tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16236328674714372042018-03-06T02:13:45.913-08:00IndiaSam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-27185279614489795072013-09-03T21:30:00.000-07:002013-09-03T21:30:26.910-07:00Final Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">For those of you who have just stumbled upon this website, it contains a blog of the two years I spent working in India for an NGO called SELCO Foundation. I hope you enjoy reading about some of my experiences; the blog is now finished.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As I write this, my bags sit stacked in the corner and my apartment is looking almost as bare as when I arrived. It’s been a frantic last few days trying to sell all my things, tie up loose ends and say my goodbyes, but I’m finally there will be leaving this small town for good in just a few hours.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I realise it's been a while since my last post! The work with agricultural machinery has been moving along but at its normal, slow pace. Farmers are still very interested in the transplanter, but it seems it can take years before most will develop enough confidence in a machine to buy one, and it’s not yet even on the shelves for the more progressive farmers who are ready to buy one now. Even so, and despite various setbacks, we’ve just finished a relatively successful transplanting season, with more farmers beginning to trust the machine and some other organisations that work with farmers starting to look into taking it on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately I’m going to miss threshing season this year, but we’ve bought two new threshers (one from West Bengal and one from China) which will be tested shortly with farmers in Karnataka. If it either of them prove suitable, they will begin the same slow route the transplanter is now heading down, to raise awareness and make them more easily available.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Although SELCO’s main business is with rural home lighting systems, they do some larger solar installations for schools and institutions. I’ve been working on a project to branch into small wind, so that SELCO will be able to provide wind turbines as well as solar panels for these larger customers. We’ve recently installed a trial solar wind hybrid system in Chennai to try to learn more about how these things work, and how to go about installing them and we’re just starting to look for more customers. I’ve also been involved in a project to develop a low-cost datalogging anemometer (wind-speed measurer that can record data), which is just about finished now, and will help us to work out whether a site is suitable for a wind turbine.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J-gsNUuRX0g/UialUKJk_CI/AAAAAAAAAgM/69ViYjg8JKg/s1600/IMGP6962_cropped+GD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J-gsNUuRX0g/UialUKJk_CI/AAAAAAAAAgM/69ViYjg8JKg/s400/IMGP6962_cropped+GD.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">There’s been a similar project to develop a SELCO solar water pumping product, mainly aimed at farmers without access to reliable electricity, which I’ve been quite heavily involved in. We have installed several systems already now and are planning to officially launch the product this month.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">After three months of an unusually wet monsoon, the rains are beginning to relent and the clear skies have brought beautiful sunsets all week. I will miss a lot of things about Ujire, apart from its beauty: the treks in the forest, swimming in the rivers, motorbike rides through the Western Ghats, visiting farmers, watching flocks of huge fruit bats fill the sky, and the many friends I’ll leave behind. It has often felt like home, but I’m ready to move on. It has been a fascinating and enlightening experience, trying to cope as (normally) the only westerner in a small rural town, but it has been tough, and at times lonely.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As I head back to the UK, I feel it's right to take some time thinking and praying through my next steps before jumping into anything. When I first accepted the offer to join SELCO, it was not an easy choice knowing the sacrifices it would involve but I felt it was where God wanted me. I'm still amazed to look back and see the intricate ways God has used this chapter to teach me lessons I couldn't have learnt anywhere else and how he's used me to bless others so many times. I don't yet know what I will be doing next, but I believe that God has it planned out somehow.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsG10GUW4_I/Uial08hJvnI/AAAAAAAAAgY/kKGfHesuAX0/s1600/DSC_0141+gd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsG10GUW4_I/Uial08hJvnI/AAAAAAAAAgY/kKGfHesuAX0/s400/DSC_0141+gd.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lab meeting on Anand's farm</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h093903CyI/UiambHIyKmI/AAAAAAAAAgg/zi5dpmmQKZk/s1600/P1080282+GD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h093903CyI/UiambHIyKmI/AAAAAAAAAgg/zi5dpmmQKZk/s400/P1080282+GD.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Learning to harvest paddy by hand</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-66yCLppJAIo/UianCvhQXzI/AAAAAAAAAgo/QcFByT_C4mc/s1600/P1080706+GD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-66yCLppJAIo/UianCvhQXzI/AAAAAAAAAgo/QcFByT_C4mc/s400/P1080706+GD.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A trip to Bandaje Falls with my sister and brother-in-</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; law when they came to visit.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYv6Y44SZ5o/UiaojX14izI/AAAAAAAAAhE/DDrHr-D8W9Q/s1600/DSC_0223+GD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYv6Y44SZ5o/UiaojX14izI/AAAAAAAAAhE/DDrHr-D8W9Q/s400/DSC_0223+GD.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Our catch after a day's fishing around Mangalore</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-els2GgAt7MU/Uianr3-gPvI/AAAAAAAAAgw/H1tXwfXrXEA/s1600/P1070725+GD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-els2GgAt7MU/Uianr3-gPvI/AAAAAAAAAgw/H1tXwfXrXEA/s400/P1070725+GD.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Trekking to Kudramukh Peak</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCSRC4nWhsY/UiaoFgJT7iI/AAAAAAAAAg4/zu8D5BGJXJ0/s1600/P1070684+GD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCSRC4nWhsY/UiaoFgJT7iI/AAAAAAAAAg4/zu8D5BGJXJ0/s400/P1070684+GD.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-59867994353517262042012-09-05T09:17:00.001-07:002012-09-05T09:26:25.453-07:00Another Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I’m back in India again after a brilliant month in the UK: getting to spend some quality time with my family, catch up with a lot of great friends and attend two weddings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve just been granted my visa extension, giving me another year in India and allowing me to finish my contract with SELCO. Getting the 40+ page paperwork together provided the usual adventure through Indian bureaucracy with multiple trips to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office and a slight moment of panic when they’d finally accepted my documents and I was told I needed to bring a bankers ‘demand draft’ for the payment by the next day or the application would be discarded, only to find out that most of the banks in Bangalore were on strike.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">SELCO Foundation has just launched a Sustainable Energy Challenge (<a href="http://sustainableenergychallenge.org/">http://sustainableenergychallenge.org/</a>) to encourage students in Bangalore to engage with issues of poverty and energy security, and hopefully give us some ideas for new projects we can start up. I gave a few talks at some universities in Bangalore during the launch and so, along with my need to be there for my visa application, I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Bangalore recently. This resulted in the first time in a long time that I’ve managed to make two consecutive church services, and I tried to make the most of being able to meet up with various church friends which has been a real blessing and I feel I’ve got to know people a lot better.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I also managed my first proper clubbing in Bangalore. All venues in Karnataka have to close by 11pm, as dictated by the rather draconian, right wing Hindu ruling party. This rule is interestingly very well enforced by the police, but it turned out one of our interns in the Bangalore office, Emmy, knew the right people and took us along to a private club at a hotel. It was still finished by 1.30 but we felt pretty cool/rebellious being out so late and certainly had a lot of fun.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I was welcomed back to Ujire by lots of rain and a mouldy flat. We’re pretty close to 100% humidity most of the time during the monsoon and everything, including books, clothes, walls and even furniture, develops a tendency to grow mould. It’s a constant battle during this period to keep things aerated and keep the moisture out so I was fully expecting to find things as they were, having not been able to fight it while back in the UK, but it was still a bit of a miserable reception.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve got several new interns here at the moment including Seb and Graeme, two guys from the UK who are doing a placement through Engineers Without Borders, similar to the one I started out with here back in 2010. It’s nice to have so much activity again and lots of people to do stuff with in the evenings and weekends. I’d forgotten how much fun you can have just playing cards and board games, but without much else to do around town, they’ve taken a fairly prominent position in our social life.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m not planning to leave India for the next year or so now. It was strange to think, as I boarded the plane, that I wouldn’t be back for so long, although not nearly as daunting as I’d expected it would be. I’m feeling very settled here now and even though it may lack a lot of the comforts I’m used to in the UK, and I still find it difficult to communicate properly with a lot of people here, I feel somehow at home.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pgw99OkGg4c/UEd3HX-rvhI/AAAAAAAAAeg/gE2E1gD_Oyw/s1600/P1070481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pgw99OkGg4c/UEd3HX-rvhI/AAAAAAAAAeg/gE2E1gD_Oyw/s400/P1070481.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Seb, Graeme, Vishal and me visiting one of the many local waterfalls</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3MFwJx7RoA/UEdz3NIqkzI/AAAAAAAAAeI/PFSbzC92XIo/s1600/P1070394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3MFwJx7RoA/UEdz3NIqkzI/AAAAAAAAAeI/PFSbzC92XIo/s400/P1070394.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Turns out we chose the wrong day to visit this viewpoint</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’d given the dehusker to a bunch of students to complete the manufacture and run some tests as part of their master’s project. This is them when they’d just finished the manufacture:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7yYigMFKj0/UEd3-s1XXaI/AAAAAAAAAeo/SepTh783SRk/s1600/P1070067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7yYigMFKj0/UEd3-s1XXaI/AAAAAAAAAeo/SepTh783SRk/s400/P1070067.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And this is rice that came through after the very first run. Actually a better rate of dehusking than I was expecting:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RItIJDXV7Kc/UEd4VgUmrNI/AAAAAAAAAew/61_2XXmbf-k/s1600/P1070063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RItIJDXV7Kc/UEd4VgUmrNI/AAAAAAAAAew/61_2XXmbf-k/s400/P1070063.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Seb has now taken on this project and is testing various materials for the dehusking plates; trying to maximise durability without compromising on the quality of dehusking.</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sGuqPMB5KwQ/UEd4x4MMMGI/AAAAAAAAAe4/IxV3KZzQt0A/s1600/DSC_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sGuqPMB5KwQ/UEd4x4MMMGI/AAAAAAAAAe4/IxV3KZzQt0A/s400/DSC_0883.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Here are some women using a manual areca dehusker that we were trialling</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZrkvLKh0kd0/UEd5s3atQmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/9-s9WtEnB6g/s1600/DSC_0925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZrkvLKh0kd0/UEd5s3atQmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/9-s9WtEnB6g/s400/DSC_0925.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; And here is a little girl having a go</div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-58576351753536356142012-04-25T07:36:00.000-07:002012-04-25T07:36:03.462-07:00Paddy Transplanter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I mentioned in my last post that one of the new things we’re looking at here is something called a “paddy transplanter”. Here's a bit of the background.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When a farmer grows his rice, he normally starts by intensively planting one corner of his field with seeds. After a few weeks, these sprout into lots of little seedlings which are too close together to thrive. The farmer then tills the rest of the field (churns it up to aerate it and kill weeds) and then uproots all the seedlings and plants them out with more appropriate spacing. This process gives the paddy a head-start over the weeds and the shock of transplanting causes the paddy to send out more shoots which increases the yield. This is the process you see rows of women doing, stooped over in fields.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a big labour shortage problem in Rural India at the moment. Paddy farming in particular requires a lot of labour, especially during transplanting, harvesting and threshing, and farmers are finding it increasingly difficult and expensive to find the labour to help them carry out these tasks. Large farms are now using large mechanical transplanters which are much faster at transplanting the seedlings, but are very expensive and not suited to small fields. Currently there is not a product on the market suited to small-scale farmers and so they are forced to pay higher prices for labour. These farmers are finding it more and more difficult to make enough money from growing paddy and so many are giving up on farming or turning to cash crops such as areca and rubber which make more money but aren’t as good at feeding the country.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Searching for machines already invented that might be suitable for small-scale farmers, we came across a manual transplanter which seems to be used in other rice-growing countries such as China but hasn’t made much of an appearance in India. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in India manufacturing similar machines.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N4KCIhWP8Ro/T5f_Uj3qTTI/AAAAAAAAAbE/aKtmQfqg6so/s1600/DSC_0714_cropped_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N4KCIhWP8Ro/T5f_Uj3qTTI/AAAAAAAAAbE/aKtmQfqg6so/s400/DSC_0714_cropped_2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The transplanter at one of the earlier tests</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We managed to find one place selling them (imported from China) and have had some fun showing it off at various agricultural shows since it arrived a couple of months ago. I’ve actually been very encouraged by the response of farmers, with literally crowds of them wanting to know when and how they can get hold of one. It’s also attracted a reasonable bit of media attention and has made it into a few newspapers (<a href="http://news.suddimahithi.com/blt/news.asp?s_dateentry=26%2F01%2F2012">here</a> and <a href="http://news.suddimahithi.com/blt/news.asp?s_dateentry=29%2F03%2F2012&amp;econtentPage=3">here</a>) and local TV. Doordarshan, a national TV channel also recorded a little feature on us, so I may well have made it onto national television, but I didn’t unfortunately have a TV to check if we made the final cut!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wlbKvAyiWWA/T5gAVLI4u0I/AAAAAAAAAbM/wKhAxkg9a7s/s1600/DSC_0965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wlbKvAyiWWA/T5gAVLI4u0I/AAAAAAAAAbM/wKhAxkg9a7s/s400/DSC_0965.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jixmNwtPBpE/T5gEeii8yBI/AAAAAAAAAbg/OkRshOB7NN4/s1600/DSC_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jixmNwtPBpE/T5gEeii8yBI/AAAAAAAAAbg/OkRshOB7NN4/s400/DSC_0806.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As well as being considerably cheaper than any other mechanical transplanter, this machine is much easier to transport, more manoeuvrable, easier to operate and maintain because it doesn’t have a motor and doesn’t have any of the associate petrol costs. Trials so far have seemed promising, but we need to test it more rigorously in Indian conditions before we can begin to make it available to farmers. Plans are underway to get hold of some more of these and test them out with some farmers’ groups through a local NGO when the next transplanting season arrives in June.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I took a couple of days off over Easter and went to Kerala for a refreshing weekend at the beach with David and his flatmate, Kevin. This was my first break of more than one consecutive day since Christmas so I actually really needed it and it was great to be able to spend Easter with a couple of other Christians; we even conducted our own Easter service by the beach!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRIjRGXsUcU/T5gFPVEU6cI/AAAAAAAAAbo/o32Dkyg006w/s1600/P1060953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRIjRGXsUcU/T5gFPVEU6cI/AAAAAAAAAbo/o32Dkyg006w/s400/P1060953.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Kevin catching a wave</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCpp_xTV88I/T5gGU1Qjb6I/AAAAAAAAAbw/l0Cc0O8GEuc/s1600/DSC_0526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCpp_xTV88I/T5gGU1Qjb6I/AAAAAAAAAbw/l0Cc0O8GEuc/s400/DSC_0526.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Trying to learn a bit more about transplanting from the pros</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qH5fbJsITrg/T5gJfbpn8MI/AAAAAAAAAcE/gdzmM_vsYbo/s1600/P1060914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qH5fbJsITrg/T5gJfbpn8MI/AAAAAAAAAcE/gdzmM_vsYbo/s400/P1060914.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A local waterfall I visited with Roger and Headley before Roger left</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P4C8IyUcz2I/T5gI9ZHxOFI/AAAAAAAAAb4/b73unXvfMRY/s1600/P1060833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P4C8IyUcz2I/T5gI9ZHxOFI/AAAAAAAAAb4/b73unXvfMRY/s400/P1060833.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-61270937403126170982012-04-05T12:12:00.000-07:002012-04-05T12:12:55.315-07:00It's been a while...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I figured it’s probably about time for another update.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Roger left Ujire for the UK on Saturday night and I’m now once again the only Brit in the village. I’m also currently the only Westerner while Headley’s away in Bangalore. Headley (the American) is still technically based in Ujire, and living in an apartment just across from mine, but it looks like he’ll be spending around half his time away on work visits so this feels like the start of a new phase in my time here, with probably a very different lifestyle.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The temperature has been at times a struggle recently, with daily highs rarely lower than 37 C. The day after Roger left was poignantly marked by the first rains we’ve had in over three months; an early sign of the monsoon, which starts here in the South and finally brings an end to the hot season.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Day to day work hasn’t really changed much but some of the projects have really moved on: The next prototype of the paddy thresher has been a much bigger success than any previous model (thanks to some great work from Tommy, Roger and Anantha) and is showing a lot more potential for actually being helpful to the farmers; We have a new thing called a paddy transplanter which we’ve been demonstrating at various farms and agricultural shows and has had been received with a lot of excitement; I’ve been spending some more time looking into wind turbines and we’re currently putting together a plan for SELCO’s first (respectable) wind installation and the Lab has inadvertently made our first ever sale!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">You won’t know what all of those things are but I plan to write about most of them in more detail so keep listening if any of it sounds interesting.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are still unfortunately no English speaking churches around but I’ve been trying to make the most of my Sundays off with trips to nice or interesting places. I doubt I’ll be able to fill you in on all of these but some of the photos may make in onto Facebook. And there are some here too:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DI9VlDCb-Ic/T33drlMJ8eI/AAAAAAAAAX4/EQkDvf0l-MQ/s1600/P1050822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DI9VlDCb-Ic/T33drlMJ8eI/AAAAAAAAAX4/EQkDvf0l-MQ/s400/P1050822.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Christmas breakfast at the beach. It really has been that long since my</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;last blog entry!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RGgJukR71Cs/T33e_9C7n_I/AAAAAAAAAYA/yHfWLKNq0RU/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RGgJukR71Cs/T33e_9C7n_I/AAAAAAAAAYA/yHfWLKNq0RU/s400/DSC_0219.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Our sand-snowman</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jGYSbZjpPFA/T33jJK7xFuI/AAAAAAAAAYI/HiHrZ-KJTTY/s1600/DSC_0681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jGYSbZjpPFA/T33jJK7xFuI/AAAAAAAAAYI/HiHrZ-KJTTY/s400/DSC_0681.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A very large statue. Every 12 years Hindus construct this scaffolding&nbsp;around</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;it, cover it in fancy decorations and ‘bathe’ it in various different substances</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSH8lYT0Wv4/T33n3BVVfwI/AAAAAAAAAYo/YhUyb8dPY3Y/s1600/DSC_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSH8lYT0Wv4/T33n3BVVfwI/AAAAAAAAAYo/YhUyb8dPY3Y/s400/DSC_0408.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A standard Jeep ride. Guess which one's driving the thing...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGQZG5jrDMk/T33s62-eCrI/AAAAAAAAAZI/COqgnqwpY5Q/s1600/P1060348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGQZG5jrDMk/T33s62-eCrI/AAAAAAAAAZI/COqgnqwpY5Q/s400/P1060348.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A work trek to Bandaji Falls</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOsMCGn0sVg/T33nd4RnUCI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Ccikv5V-7SI/s1600/P1060420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOsMCGn0sVg/T33nd4RnUCI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Ccikv5V-7SI/s400/P1060420.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Bandaji Falls</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GndtrETslxY/T33oyxoThJI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8YpgFb9S27A/s1600/DSC_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GndtrETslxY/T33oyxoThJI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8YpgFb9S27A/s400/DSC_0255.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Having a go at some pottery</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LpWcM-pef0/T33pM22CUdI/AAAAAAAAAY4/hPB4A0fgvtk/s1600/DSC_0333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LpWcM-pef0/T33pM22CUdI/AAAAAAAAAY4/hPB4A0fgvtk/s400/DSC_0333.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Having a go at the local 'lift a really heavy rock' competition</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xSmLksByBtI/T33qFmedMEI/AAAAAAAAAZA/4grQ-fXw090/s1600/DSC_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xSmLksByBtI/T33qFmedMEI/AAAAAAAAAZA/4grQ-fXw090/s400/DSC_0455.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The earth terminal in our apartment block seems to have an interesting</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;tendency to float at around 50-60 Volts AC. For those of you who</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;aren't electrically minded: it's not supposed to do that and means that</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;most metallic electrical appliances give you an electric shock when you</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;touch them.</div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-9953256680466108242011-12-21T06:25:00.000-08:002012-01-06T05:49:07.968-08:00Chitradurga<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">SELCO has traditionally almost exclusively sold personal photovoltaic systems: they have come up with various innovative ways to help people afford the systems and acquire loans, but the product has always been the same. SELCO Labs, the division I’m a part of, is only a couple of years old and is essentially the ‘innovations’ department, developing new products and services. Last week I visited Chitradurga, a district renowned for its high wind speeds, to scope out locations for SELCO to trial wind turbine systems and some of the other projects we’re working on, so this is probably a good point to fill you in on some of the our other work...<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In the past, SELCO have been highly praised for our ability to provide for people in slums, but slums are still a notoriously difficult market to reach and there are many locations where the standard SELCO model just can’t work. The dwellers generally don’t own the land and can be moved on at any time, so they are unwilling to invest in anything which cannot be easily transported if needed. On top of this, if the landlords see that the people are establishing themselves (and investing in things like electricity), they will often kick the people off to stop them getting too settled. Banks are also unwilling to lend money to people without a fixed address. The biggest electricity need of these people is lighting, to replace their dim and unhealthy kerosene lamps and so one new model from SELCO Labs, which has been pretty successful so far, is to rent out electric lanterns. SELCO find a local entrepreneur who is willing to manage a central charging station and then the people pay a certain amount each day to rent their lighting. The guys from this unelectrified roadside slum seemed interested in the program so hopefully they’ll have lighting soon if everything works out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jOQRMVfxj0E/TvCU64FoiUI/AAAAAAAAAUg/IlFAcYXKg7A/s1600/DSC_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jOQRMVfxj0E/TvCU64FoiUI/AAAAAAAAAUg/IlFAcYXKg7A/s400/DSC_0727.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Another project we’re investigating is how to implement mini-grid systems to power a cluster of houses from a central power station. Large photovoltaic systems are cheaper per watt of power and so these systems can offer reasonable cost reductions, however they come with a whole host of social issues to overcome, such as how do you decide who pays what and who covers maintenance, how much electricity can each person use, how do you prevent people bypassing their meter etc. We are yet to set up any mini-grids, but this rural slum could be a great location for our first trial. The guys don’t currently have legal rights to the land, but apparently they have been granted ownership and will be looking to upgrade their dwellings once the paperwork comes through. Being in such a windy location, this may also be a great site to put a wind turbine further down the line as these guys’ electricity requirements increase.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAdOZbxQXtY/TvCVSxlmrEI/AAAAAAAAAUo/LdGGioIkxQ4/s1600/DSC_0785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAdOZbxQXtY/TvCVSxlmrEI/AAAAAAAAAUo/LdGGioIkxQ4/s400/DSC_0785.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This remote village only got a (dirt) road to it a few years ago and is still very underdeveloped. The villagers are subsistence farmers and only receive an income twice a year, when they take particular harvests to market, and so banks are unwilling to lend them money even though they own their land. We managed to arrange for some of them to get our systems a couple of years ago and we’re now trying to find some way the others can manage to afford them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CSas0ndYEQc/TvCVsuf3PcI/AAAAAAAAAUw/--NevwR_n2I/s1600/DSC_0863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CSas0ndYEQc/TvCVsuf3PcI/AAAAAAAAAUw/--NevwR_n2I/s400/DSC_0863.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Whilst driving around Chitradurga, we also stopped off at this example of some of SELCO’s standard systems which have allowed street sellers to operate at night and increase their income (you can see the little solar panels sticking up from the carts). The guy nearest is obviously such a big fan of SELCO that he’s painted our logo on his cart!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PmNogD3N7es/TvCWPIFCqOI/AAAAAAAAAU4/4iMZoXPnuz8/s1600/DSC_0815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PmNogD3N7es/TvCWPIFCqOI/AAAAAAAAAU4/4iMZoXPnuz8/s400/DSC_0815.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">And here’s one final project I visited whilst in Chitradurga: a (probably) one off project to kit a school bus out with laptops and solar panels, which will then be carted around a cluster of schools running IT classes for the students. This seems like a great project and the computer skills taught should open up a load of opportunities for the kids, but unfortunately it’s difficult to do these kinds of projects without donor funding, like we had for this one, as there is no revenue to make it self-sufficient.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kjNAjrYo34I/TvCcOREOofI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ba1daHSeHDc/s1600/DSC_0874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kjNAjrYo34I/TvCcOREOofI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ba1daHSeHDc/s400/DSC_0874.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I got a chance to visit the famous Chitradurga Fort whilst there, an impressive structure with seven concentric rings of fortification. This is also home to 'the human monkey', who was originally thought mad when he made his home in the walls but has now become a media sensation for his impressive climbing skills.&nbsp;This is him abseiling down one of the walls without any ropes; leaving the wall entirely as he drops several feet at a time between hand-holds.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8mAPMORrnUc/TvCgGhbX6wI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/Rg9nqs6DmRM/s1600/DSC_1013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8mAPMORrnUc/TvCgGhbX6wI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/Rg9nqs6DmRM/s400/DSC_1013.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Unsurprisingly, he's developed a bit of a following and this is one of his 'students' who clearly still has a bit to learn as he hangs on only with the help of some others.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efaVhJui_eU/TvCgs306kEI/AAAAAAAAAVY/V2EFhbbWn0c/s1600/DSC_1000_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efaVhJui_eU/TvCgs306kEI/AAAAAAAAAVY/V2EFhbbWn0c/s400/DSC_1000_cropped.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I got to Ujire, the lab took on a project with a university economics professor who had designed a vertical axis wind turbine and wanted us to help him test it. At the time we agreed to it, there was unfortunately no-one around in the lab who knew enough about wind turbines to realise that the guys didn't know what they were doing and the turbine is pretty much a piece of junk. It's been something of a dark shadow in the lab ever since. Tommy and I have finally got round to getting a stand made for it, found potentially the windiest site in the area (which still isn’t saying much and it's pretty difficult to get away from trees here!) and put it all together and installed it. After a few modifications, it now turns, but we’re yet to see if it will generate any worthwhile power and it certainly won’t reach the 108% efficiency which the designers have somehow predicted in their calculations!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUHNYl9X3Ow/TvCXUy53pFI/AAAAAAAAAVA/E36meJW_dgs/s1600/DSC_0619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUHNYl9X3Ow/TvCXUy53pFI/AAAAAAAAAVA/E36meJW_dgs/s400/DSC_0619.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We were visited by a group of 25 entrepreneurs who all own solar companies in various different parts of Africa. Our lab hosted them for the last day of their five day, NGO funded, trip to India to learn more about how SELCO works and get advice for how they can run things in their own countries. In the evening we organised a meal followed by a traditional local dance/play. The play was quite good fun and involved some impressive costumes, although with everything spoken in Kannada and without much actual movement onstage, even the two and a half hour shortened version was a bit much for me and Tommy (the original is supposed to take over eight hours!) and we left early. Apparently by the end there were no Africans around either...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LbG_PnASr1I/TvChWS8HSLI/AAAAAAAAAVg/QWBZjk_Vhwc/s1600/DSC_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LbG_PnASr1I/TvChWS8HSLI/AAAAAAAAAVg/QWBZjk_Vhwc/s400/DSC_0582.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This will probably be my last blog post before Christmas so I wish you all a very merry and significant Christmas! In India, Christmas is celebrated, but it’s just one more occasion in a multitude of different festivals that happen throughout the year. There are some plastic stars for sale in some of the shops at the moment and I saw a van driving around the other day playing loud Indian music with some guys dressed as Father Christmas with green facepaint&nbsp;standing in the back, but apart from these odd things there's nothing to let you know it’s only a few days away. And it’s difficult to feel Christmassy when the temperature is still reaching 35 degrees most days! For someone who’s always felt so disillusioned by the superficial and commercial Christmases of the West, I’m amazed at how much I miss all the festivities and the lights and the buzz. Tommy, Roger and I are planning to take a few days off work and head to the beach for our Christmas. We’ve booked our train tickets, although all the lodges we've called seems to be either fully booked or just tell us to turn up on the day so we’ll just have to try the latter and see what happens.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">That pretty much concludes the blog but here are a few other photos:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYWkxGAZ81g/TvClRG1vG5I/AAAAAAAAAVo/ESBoCIyzNKw/s1600/DSC_0938_cropped_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYWkxGAZ81g/TvClRG1vG5I/AAAAAAAAAVo/ESBoCIyzNKw/s400/DSC_0938_cropped_2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;There were also some real monkeys at the fort<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UeyXlAJAkGE/TvGfJbFISPI/AAAAAAAAAVw/08VVMsa0ino/s1600/DSC_0931_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UeyXlAJAkGE/TvGfJbFISPI/AAAAAAAAAVw/08VVMsa0ino/s400/DSC_0931_crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4n84SrLLv8/TvGf816izGI/AAAAAAAAAV4/rUkRngwwljI/s1600/P1050546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4n84SrLLv8/TvGf816izGI/AAAAAAAAAV4/rUkRngwwljI/s400/P1050546.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;They hadn't quite finished loading the roof of our nightbus when I took this<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;photo. I was assured that the roofs are designed to take this kind of weight,<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;but the constant swaying/shearing motion on the way back was a bit<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;disconcerting. And we did get two punctures...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VUE1fklQ_g/TvGnzmGp8-I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/r2I1EtopsFc/s1600/DSC_0750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VUE1fklQ_g/TvGnzmGp8-I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/r2I1EtopsFc/s400/DSC_0750.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Some wind turbines around Chitradurga<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8KhE6wnP5g/TvGodVHs5SI/AAAAAAAAAWY/8b1-WcSUuoM/s1600/DSC_0776_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8KhE6wnP5g/TvGodVHs5SI/AAAAAAAAAWY/8b1-WcSUuoM/s400/DSC_0776_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;And some slum puppies</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-33209723390112449142011-12-08T10:07:00.000-08:002011-12-08T10:07:20.119-08:00Movember<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">It seems like there aren’t many weeks that go by without some kind of festival or celebration here in India, but last week held Lakshadeepa, one of the larger ones in this region. It’s another festival of light and is famously celebrated in Dharmasthala, the next town along, with a four day carnival which thousands flock to from the surrounding area. The streets become filled with various stalls and entertainments (including a rather perilous looking funfair) and the whole town is covered in tiny lightbulbs. I ended up spending a reasonable bit of time there helping to man the SELCO stall, which was mainly advertising our solar lighting systems but we had a bit showing off some agricultural machines too in the hope of catching some farmers to talk to.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Tommy, Roger and I decided to partake in Movember this year. I would love to say that we did our bit in raising awareness for men’s health issues but unfortunately, with about 90% of the blokes here sporting a tash, I think our efforts were slightly lost in translation. Before finally shaving it off, I thought it would be sensible to get my moustache professionally trimmed. And I figured there were probably few places in the world more experienced at doing it than a South Indian barber’s. I was indeed very impressed with my 25 rupee cut (about 35p), which left my tash in top shape and came with a free (very vigorous) head massage, about 6 different face ointments, and no cuts!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwsi3YKVGJw/TuDwDPgg1jI/AAAAAAAAATU/-0b8v7e-9r0/s1600/P1050401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwsi3YKVGJw/TuDwDPgg1jI/AAAAAAAAATU/-0b8v7e-9r0/s400/P1050401.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The design for the next prototype of the thresher is now finished and it’s ready to be built. As of yet we’ve always used workshops in Ujire to do the fabrication for prototypes but they can be quite slow and aren’t great at more detailed parts so as the designs start to get more advanced we need to investigate new options. Mangalore is a much larger city and holds lots of workshops which are ideal for the kind of work we need but many of these larger places are only interested in big orders so it can be tough to find workshops willing to make one-off prototypes. I needed to get some bearings and pulleys from Mangalore last Wednesday so I took the opportunity to search out somewhere to get our thresher made and through a suggestion from one of SELCO's contacts managed to find a workshop willing. It's run by a qualified mechanical engineer who seems very interested in our projects and keen to be involved (and also speaks good English which simplifies things a lot) so if it all works out this could make manufacturing a lot easier in the future.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the weekend I had to make another trip to Bangalore to open a bank account and got to spend a nice bit of time with David and Kevin again. The bank I was recommended is everything you expect and Indian bank should be: a chaotic, stuffy room with barricades of women at desks which you need to navigate before you can get anything done, endless forms and run on an archaic system of paper and floppy disks (that's not actually a joke: there were stacks of paper and genuine floppy disks all over the clerks' desks). In order to open a bank account, you need to be proposed by someone already holding an account with that bank (as well as provide all the&nbsp;letters and other pieces of paperwork of course), but the bank manager had kindly agreed to propose me when I visited on a previous trip to Bangalore so that wasn't too much of a problem in the end. What was more of an issue was that due to a technical fault, a large number of people could't withdraw any money from the ATMs that day and so were coming into the bank to get their cash. And the protocol seems to be that it is the bank managers job to deal with&nbsp;withdrawals&nbsp;so I ended up stuck in his office for over two hours while he tried to complete my paperwork amid dishing out payments of anything from £10 upwards to disgruntled customers and running the bank. Anyway, I now have my very own Indian bank account which feels quite cool; let's hope the bank doesn't lose all my money!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">-Oh, and I've made it into my first Indian paper (click<a href="http://www.udayavani.com/news/114526L15-114526-%E0%B2%A6-%E0%B2%B8-%E0%B2%B0-%E0%B2%A4%E0%B2%B0-%E0%B2%AE-%E0%B2%B2-%E0%B2%B5-%E0%B2%A6-%E0%B2%B6-%E0%B2%A4-%E0%B2%A4-%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%9C-%E0%B2%9E%E0%B2%B0-%E0%B2%95-%E0%B2%B3%E0%B2%9C.html"> here</a>), which is published all over Karnataka. I'll try to get in one that's written in English next time though...<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4P8mjMFoWAI/TuDw632cYHI/AAAAAAAAATc/IDfPaF3wtd4/s1600/P1050386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4P8mjMFoWAI/TuDw632cYHI/AAAAAAAAATc/IDfPaF3wtd4/s400/P1050386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Now that we've kitted the kitchen out, we've been cooking a bit more for<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;ourselves. This is an attempt at pasta sauce: difficult without any herbs but<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;it just about works.<br /><br /><br />And some other photos...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERWvHnOxl10/TuDz-6J2QbI/AAAAAAAAATk/Y6FeSlaM0tA/s1600/P1050393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERWvHnOxl10/TuDz-6J2QbI/AAAAAAAAATk/Y6FeSlaM0tA/s400/P1050393.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QWtB4OqvVk0/TuD2qwdXz5I/AAAAAAAAAT0/Shzd0ECU7PU/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QWtB4OqvVk0/TuD2qwdXz5I/AAAAAAAAAT0/Shzd0ECU7PU/s400/DSC_0069.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;One of the thresher tests rained off<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gw8V1AqOTYg/TuD3X0WHEGI/AAAAAAAAAT8/GSCX6KaI4wU/s1600/DSC_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gw8V1AqOTYg/TuD3X0WHEGI/AAAAAAAAAT8/GSCX6KaI4wU/s400/DSC_0046.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A farmer's kids collecting tender coconuts for us to drink<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNZazl7PIbg/TuD6IvekeLI/AAAAAAAAAUM/JQIP7O_OMkk/s1600/DSC_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNZazl7PIbg/TuD6IvekeLI/AAAAAAAAAUM/JQIP7O_OMkk/s400/DSC_0978.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;An&nbsp;ox<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gl7bfqWoO3s/TuD6ujgRL7I/AAAAAAAAAUU/vLl2OfGfiNk/s1600/DSC_0907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gl7bfqWoO3s/TuD6ujgRL7I/AAAAAAAAAUU/vLl2OfGfiNk/s400/DSC_0907.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;And a little chick</div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-36094689173544127632011-11-24T12:03:00.000-08:002011-11-30T23:49:38.136-08:00More on what I'm doing here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hey again guys,<br /><br />Sorry it's been a while. I've found myself pretty busy and it's been difficult to steal away enough time to write this properly.&nbsp;There's quite a lot that's happened since the last update but I'll to my best to fill you in...<br /><br />Roger,&nbsp;the other Engineers Without Borders volunteer, has arrived now and we've also been joined by Headley, an American who's working on a lot of the electronics for SELCO's solar projects. Headley worked for SELCO in Bangalore for several months before this relocation to Ujire, and he'll probably be here for a similar length of time to me. It's nice to know I won't be the only westerner in this town once Tommy and Roger leave. The four of us are staying in two, two bedroom apartments in the staff accommodation block for the college. The rooms are actually pretty nice although the college is being rather disorganised about equipping my and Tommy's room so we're currently without hot water or any cupboards (The college administration is actually frustratingly disorganised and pretty incompetent with most things). To make up for the discomfort, I've bought some new sofas and a fridge and kitchen equipment and we have a decent dining table and chairs on places to sit out on the balconies. Headley's brought with him a 32 inch TV and an X-Box too so we're not doing too badly overall.<br /><br />This is probably a good time to give you more of the background to the work I'm doing too.&nbsp;The majority of the farmers in Karnataka are small scale subsistence farmers. They have a pretty hard existence and are incredibly vulnerable to adversities: one bad harvest could put them under, and the hardship is only going to get worse as climate change becomes more severe. There is also (unbelievably for a country of over a billion people) a labour shortage in rural areas so farmers find it hard and expensive to recruit workers for the jobs that would traditionally require them such as transplanting, harvesting and threshing rice.&nbsp;Because of this, the mechanisation of farming processes is incredibly important, but despite the benefits there has so far been very little uptake of new technologies by these farmers.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Since SELCO Labs' creation just over two years ago, they have mainly focused on designing new products appropriate for these farmers in order to&nbsp;address this problem. As 'principal mechanical engineer' and the first engineering employee at SELCO Labs, I've been given charge these projects which have till now mainly been worked on (sporadically) by interns. The main two projects which seem to show promise are the small scale paddy dehusker which removes the husks from grains of rice (the project I worked on last year) and a paddy thresher which strips the grains from the harvested paddy grass, although there are various others which we may pick up on at a later date. I've been doing quite a lot of research to try to find out what's already been designed for small farmers and there's a couple of machines which we're getting hold of to test out at the moment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm also really keen to get to the bottom of exactly what the barriers are which prevent the uptake of technology; whether it is lack of appropriate products or whether there are other parts missing in the chain. SELCO have lots of links with other organisation and NGOs so I've been trying to talk with various people to gain a better understanding of the current situation, and I've also commissioned a few surveys of local farmers.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As a fun project on the side, the lab has been looking into the potential for a SELCO wind power project and I think it shows a lot of promise but we're still waiting for some of our funding to come through before we can really work on this.</div><br />Last week I made a five day trip to Bangalore to visit a large agricultural show called Krishi Mela. It's supposedly one of the largest of its kind in India and draws crowds from all over Karnataka and the neighbouring states. I went to find out more about what&nbsp;experiences&nbsp;other companies have had with selling machinery to small scale farmers and to learn more about the general sector. There was actually no-one there who'd had any great success with it but it was really useful to hear the differing opinions on selling to small farmers and to hear various theories as to&nbsp;what the barriers are. And I had a lot of fun playing with all the machines! I also organised to meet with a professor of agricultural engineering at the show which proved very fruitful. His department have come up with some great little machines for small scale farmers (the best I've seen from any institution yet) and have actually sold some of them. They were interested in our work and their products should hopefully be useful to us as we experiment with different marketing methods later down the line so we're looking to keep some kind of partnership.<br /><br />It was really great to stay with David again too (although he spent the weekend out of town on work), and his new flatmate Kevin, a retired detective from the States. He's here for nine months devising training programs for the International Justice Mission, a Christian organisation who basically investigate illegal slavery and then work with local police to organise raids and rescue captives. I actually met a few of the younger guys from IJM on my last visit and they invited me round for a great evening with them on Saturday: a full house; home-cooked Korean food and games of&nbsp;Mafia. I went to church with Henry, one of the IJMers, on Sunday. There are no&nbsp;English-speaking churches in my area so it was so good to be back in one after such a long time without.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PtxeU3APVk/Ts6UpdymcEI/AAAAAAAAASc/joJuIBAVJDY/s1600/DSC_0165+updated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PtxeU3APVk/Ts6UpdymcEI/AAAAAAAAASc/joJuIBAVJDY/s400/DSC_0165+updated.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The view from the lab window. The stairs may be a pain but having an<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;office on the fourth floor has its perks.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vkLF2PAMoA/Ts6VhXSXrYI/AAAAAAAAASk/_Vlj72rBng8/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vkLF2PAMoA/Ts6VhXSXrYI/AAAAAAAAASk/_Vlj72rBng8/s400/DSC_0124.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Diwali turned out to be a much smaller festival than I had expected but<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Tommy, Roger and I made the most of it with stupid amounts of fireworks.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;To keep them cheap, it seems the manufacturers save money on fuse wire<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;and systems to make them go straight.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vzdUOH5fLEU/Ts6Y-roV4bI/AAAAAAAAASs/HPJDkdRwDe0/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vzdUOH5fLEU/Ts6Y-roV4bI/AAAAAAAAASs/HPJDkdRwDe0/s400/DSC_0006.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Some local farmers testing our thresher<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d4jiRi4uz-M/Ts6Zz1eH4CI/AAAAAAAAAS8/F0fbFiGLafg/s1600/DSC_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d4jiRi4uz-M/Ts6Zz1eH4CI/AAAAAAAAAS8/F0fbFiGLafg/s400/DSC_0472.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The weekend before last I went to my first South<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Indian wedding. The groom, Anil, is one of the<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;teachers at the college who I've shared quite a<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;few&nbsp;drinks with.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JvL-L3SjC8U/Ts6ZhlGJahI/AAAAAAAAAS0/iOUhAfkbNJ8/s1600/DSC_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JvL-L3SjC8U/Ts6ZhlGJahI/AAAAAAAAAS0/iOUhAfkbNJ8/s400/DSC_0663.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Santosh, one of the guys who works in the office. He likes to catch<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;dragonflies on farm visits.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MZeEHvKTWaw/Ts6b9R0iH0I/AAAAAAAAATE/OPR8pj2vXxQ/s1600/DSC_0206+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MZeEHvKTWaw/Ts6b9R0iH0I/AAAAAAAAATE/OPR8pj2vXxQ/s400/DSC_0206+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Some fruit bats coming out as the sun sets<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfYiXljvCZI/Ts6cz2w3ooI/AAAAAAAAATM/3_xh61FkWsc/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfYiXljvCZI/Ts6cz2w3ooI/AAAAAAAAATM/3_xh61FkWsc/s400/DSC_0007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A farmworker carrying paddy in the rain<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-2334723677316786242011-10-17T23:48:00.000-07:002011-10-17T23:48:08.233-07:00Settling in<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sorry it’s been such a long time since my last update. –Expect the next one a bit sooner!<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I have learnt a lot about Indian bureaucracy since my last post. Despite the many thrills and excitements of being back in India, my first week was largely overshadowed by a gradual realisation that registering with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office isn’t very straightforward. I optimistically turned up for my first visit with each of the 5 articles requested on their website neatly prepared and after 3 hours of waiting in line, I was casually sent away with a much longer and rather different checklist. I didn’t have a clue what most of the things on the list where so it was an absolute miracle (like actually) when I met Nickson, a friend of David’s (the one I miraculously ended up staying with) who works for an organisation which specialises in helping foreigners get through this process. He’s an absolute legend and helped me over the following week or so to put together a 41 page booklet with everything I needed, including one form printed on “non-judicial stamp paper” and another which needed to be taken to a separate department to get officiated. Anyway, everything came together in the end and I managed to officially register on the final day of the two week deadline!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My unexpected stay in Bangalore was frustrating at times but it was really nice to spend time with David and Nickson and get to know a load of their other friends. It feels like I’ve got something of a friendship and fellowship base there which is great to have for when end up visiting in the future. I also got to see a load of the sights, visit some nice bars and restaurants and even got to shop for a new acoustic guitar.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I caught the eight hour night-bus to Ujire as soon as my registration went through and I’ve been really enjoying its relative tranquillity. Ujire is the small town where I spent last summer, set in the middle of the jungle covered Western Ghats and about two hours from the coast. There have actually been quite a few changes since I was last here, the most noteworthy of which are that the college where my office is based now has a canteen which serves good food(!) and there are now two places which serve meat and alcohol (as opposed to one last year) and one of them isn’t dingy and unhygienic. My accommodation is also a big improvement on last year. I’m currently staying in the ‘staff quarters’ in a two bedroom apartment with Tommy. We have a kitchen, dining area, living room, two balconies and two bathrooms (although only one bathroom has hot water and a western style toilet..). I may move out to an actual house at some point but for now this place is ideal and very near to work. I’m gradually trying to build up some kind of routine and settle into things. Haven’t yet managed to join a cricket team but I’ve made it along to the local gym a couple of times (much to the apparent amusement of the others members) and I may try to start up Ujire's first rugby club sometime soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On my first morning here I went on a trek with Tommy up Gadaka, a nearby hill with a ruined fort at the top. The views of the surrounding landscape were a spectacular reminder of the beauty and remoteness of this place and an unbeatable introduction to my new home.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I got stuck into work quite quickly and already feel like things are moving. It’s the rice harvest season at the moment and we’re hoping to test out our mechanical thresher (removes the grains of paddy from the grassy stalks) against some of the traditional hand threshing methods and get some ideas for design improvements so we’re planning to visit several farms in the next couple of weeks and have already tried it out at one.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kZuTGdiM4uQ/Tp0NrtxQ_1I/AAAAAAAAARk/ECFlrP2o-sI/s1600/P1040875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kZuTGdiM4uQ/Tp0NrtxQ_1I/AAAAAAAAARk/ECFlrP2o-sI/s400/P1040875.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Enjoying a burger (I was surprised to find a place that served real beef!) with<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;David and Jason<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gvCyf8-fEQ/Tp0OEF_utGI/AAAAAAAAARs/_viA5kJhBnk/s1600/P1040886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gvCyf8-fEQ/Tp0OEF_utGI/AAAAAAAAARs/_viA5kJhBnk/s400/P1040886.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The view from Gadaka</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S_5OVeC0-aE/Tp0NW18DBfI/AAAAAAAAARc/qQ0ayposxnw/s1600/DSC_0623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S_5OVeC0-aE/Tp0NW18DBfI/AAAAAAAAARc/qQ0ayposxnw/s400/DSC_0623.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Trying out the thresher</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kS9CKalHhK0/Tp0TgjV_WuI/AAAAAAAAAR0/f1CkDfJbt_A/s1600/DSC_0545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kS9CKalHhK0/Tp0TgjV_WuI/AAAAAAAAAR0/f1CkDfJbt_A/s400/DSC_0545.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the farm workers demonstrating a new harvesting</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; machine that I might be investigating more</div><br /></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-27272253078621306522011-09-21T03:15:00.000-07:002011-09-21T04:13:15.971-07:00Back again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So after a year away, I'm finally back in India!</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm&nbsp;planning to work for the next two years for <a href="http://www.selco-india.com/">SELCO</a>,&nbsp;an amazing NGO which I spent last summer with (you can read about my time there in older blog entries). I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into the project and learning to live in such a different culture. It will surely be tough at times but I feel so fortunate to get this opportunity and I’m excited to see what this chapter has in store.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Operating as a social enterprise, SELCO's main activity is selling solar-power systems to people without electricity, although they've recently been looking into ways they can expand their work. I'll be part of "SELCO Labs", the R&amp;D department where I was last summer, looking at ways to help poor rural farmers gain access to useful equipment and machinery. I'll also be spending some of my time working on small wind turbines and seeing how SELCO can include these in their solar systems. –Should be really interesting stuff and with the potential to help a vast number of people.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the work involves lots of interaction with farmers, SELCO Labs is based out in rural Karnataka, in a town called Ujire. There are two other young engineers from the UK who I'll be working/living with for the first six months, volunteering through Engineers Without Borders. Tommy has been there since July and Roger arrives in October. I'll try to introduce the rest of the office to you later on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm in Bangalore at the moment, the capital of Karnataka and home of SELCO Headquarters. &nbsp;Before I can head on to Ujire I need to register with the Foreign Regional Registry Office which I'm trying to sort all my bits of paperwork for at the moment but it sounds like they can be even more difficult than the visa people! I'm hoping to have everything together by tomorrow so I'll head in for the first time and see what happens...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While in Bangalore, I'm staying with David Simpson. He’s working for Student Alpha here and contacted me when he ended up hearing on facebook (by some bizarre fluke!) that I was moving to India. It has been such a blessing to have a proper base and someone to stay with and I've got to meet a lot of his friends too which has been great.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's so much more to say but I hope that gives you a reasonable idea of what up to. Again, please keep in touch and don't forget to subscribe on the right-hand side if you want to hear when I add future blog entries!</span></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-19819086070186350322010-11-10T06:29:00.000-08:002010-11-10T06:29:45.112-08:00IntroHey guys,<br /><br />This is a blog about my time in India in the summer of 2010. I worked with a development NGO called SELCO, designing a small scale paddy de-husker.&nbsp;Hope you enjoy reading about it.<br /><br />SamSam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-76027253778084427982010-10-08T14:43:00.000-07:002010-10-09T00:54:03.702-07:00Back home<div class="MsoNormal">My plane landed on Monday evening. Things still feel a bit of a blur three days on but I’m starting to find me feet. I was expecting a culture shock, especially moving back to Cambridge so quickly (I had to be back and signed in on Tuesday), and I haven’t really had much time yet to sit and work out my thoughts about the whole experience. Hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The last week of work was a bit manic but I managed to get everything finished and tied up on the India side: The next designs have been passed on to the workshops and are currently being made (that is, the second prototype of the de-husker which we showed to the farmers and the fire-feeder); the head of mechanical engineering is in place to continue discussions with the workshops and my desk is clear. I still need to finish the handover document and some other bits and pieces but there’s no rush for those so I’ll do that from here and email them across.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Both of the workshops had promised they would finish making the prototypes of the other de-husker designs by my last morning in Ujire and I had a fantasy that everything would come to a perfect close as I tested them both and got to see my designs in action before disappearing into the sunset. Unfortunately this is India and so neither of workshops had finished. I’m pretty sure by now that neither of these designs would have been as effective as the one which we showed to the farmers, but we decided to carry them to completion just in case and as useful demonstration models for visitors to the lab and future interns.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-DONzimCI/AAAAAAAAAPU/eo7Ku-hz9KI/s1600/P1030648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-DONzimCI/AAAAAAAAAPU/eo7Ku-hz9KI/s400/P1030648.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Just needed a slot cut in the bottom and some mesh put over it</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-C_xNwElI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/9ZGK9FtL4bU/s1600/P1030644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-C_xNwElI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/9ZGK9FtL4bU/s400/P1030644.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; So nearly there...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are still quite a few bits and pieces of work that I can help SELCO with while in the UK so I’m planning to stay in touch and do as much as I have time for. I may try to find some other people to get involved and perhaps set up some kind of society within the engineering department but that will depend on what sort of work there is and how well the link works.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On Thursday I decided to head to Anand’s farm to write the handover document. The site, in the middle of the jungle and over half an hour’s walk from the main road, was the perfect place to get away from distractions and get into nature for one last time. In the evening I ended up going back with one of the farm workers and spending the night with him. Despite having seen so much of the rural lifestyle, it was enlightening to spend a whole evening with a family.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-EXDRO4qI/AAAAAAAAAPY/tAys8f5Y8cM/s1600/P1030526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-EXDRO4qI/AAAAAAAAAPY/tAys8f5Y8cM/s400/P1030526.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Some of the guys I’ve become friendly with at the hostel are organising an event called ‘joy of giving’, where they encourage people to give things they don’t need and then sell them to raise money for a local ‘orphanage’. I’m not quite sure how much of an orphanage it actually is but as far as I could gather there are at least some orphans there and the rest are from pretty lowly backgrounds. And the hostel guys obviously think it’s a cause worth supporting. We paid them a visit and ended up getting put in front of the kids to lead an impromptu assembly! It was a bit chaotic but we played a few little games and did some dancing and I ended up playing a bit of guitar, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I was amazed at how well equipped the state-funded institution was considering some of the photos I’ve seen of orphanages in these kind of places. I sort of feel that whatever money the guys manage to raise won’t be much compared with what the government contributes but I hope that the gesture will mean a lot to the kids and show them that there are people on the outside who care.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-FvKMjbNI/AAAAAAAAAPc/GOeYdNqAj_w/s1600/DSCN3532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-FvKMjbNI/AAAAAAAAAPc/GOeYdNqAj_w/s400/DSCN3532.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And for one last time, a few more photos:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-GgcQ8lNI/AAAAAAAAAPg/NqKA58m4YzM/s1600/P1030447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-GgcQ8lNI/AAAAAAAAAPg/NqKA58m4YzM/s400/P1030447.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The view from the farm</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-HG08G6PI/AAAAAAAAAPk/e6rse4uBqR0/s1600/P1030488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-HG08G6PI/AAAAAAAAAPk/e6rse4uBqR0/s400/P1030488.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the leeches I managed to pick up in the jungle<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-HVhUTeFI/AAAAAAAAAPo/lbw2eOGDJys/s1600/P1030501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-HVhUTeFI/AAAAAAAAAPo/lbw2eOGDJys/s400/P1030501.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This woman spent some of the evening making 'beedies', a kind of local<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; cigarette. Each one requires her to cut out the rolling paper from a leaf,<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; fill it with tobacco and roll it, tie it up with thread and then fold the ends<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; in in a funny way to keep the tobacco in. She gets 70 rupees (about a<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; pound) for every 1000 of these she makes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span id="goog_1686845254"></span><span id="goog_1686845255"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-Jgud6tmI/AAAAAAAAAPw/Gv5G9LI7jmg/s1600/DSCN3569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-Jgud6tmI/AAAAAAAAAPw/Gv5G9LI7jmg/s400/DSCN3569.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-JYiiiQVI/AAAAAAAAAPs/mSKncQy3S3A/s1600/P1030560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-JYiiiQVI/AAAAAAAAAPs/mSKncQy3S3A/s400/P1030560.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Guess which one's driving the jeep (clue - he's hanging out the door)<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-KEtno0sI/AAAAAAAAAP0/lZRLAjLKDGk/s1600/P1030667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-KEtno0sI/AAAAAAAAAP0/lZRLAjLKDGk/s400/P1030667.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The sleeper bus on the way to Bangalore<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-KRELyhQI/AAAAAAAAAP4/vBM4zp7ndzM/s1600/P1030677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-KRELyhQI/AAAAAAAAAP4/vBM4zp7ndzM/s400/P1030677.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Rhitu works for the BBC and she's making a radio programme about<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; development and particularly SELCO's approach so she wanted to<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; interview me while I was in Bangalore<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-Krgl8zFI/AAAAAAAAAP8/a5npwXTXGXU/s1600/P1030550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TK-Krgl8zFI/AAAAAAAAAP8/a5npwXTXGXU/s400/P1030550.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I arrived in India in the middle of the monsoon while the rice was being<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; planted out in the fields. It feels like a nice end to my trip to be leaving<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; just as the rice is ready to be harvested.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-78316902022065266622010-09-29T23:47:00.000-07:002010-09-30T23:56:57.570-07:00Last little bits<div class="MsoNormal">Not much to say on the de-husker front this week unfortunately. Both workshops are working away and will hopefully each have something for me to try out before I leave. Most of my time has been spent designing the next prototype of the de-husker we showed to the farmers and also an automatic fire feeder. I’ve had quite a few ideas while I’ve been here of how the de-husker project can develop beyond what I’ve had time to do, and so it would be nice to try to follow through with them once back in the UK. I’ve had a couple of talks with the head of the mechanical engineering department here and he seems keen to coordinate things with the workshops and test the next prototypes so I’m really hopeful that it’s going to work out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQhqks47WI/AAAAAAAAAOU/dVJi4iCdKps/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQhqks47WI/AAAAAAAAAOU/dVJi4iCdKps/s400/Untitled.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The fire feeder is intended to provide a cheap, automatic way of feeding small pieces of firewood or waste such as coconut husks into a fire without someone needing to attend it constantly. It’s a project which SELCO had previously considered but were unsure how useful it would actually be to people. Hopefully this prototype will work well enough to get a better idea.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQt5mgDSsI/AAAAAAAAAOw/IkfX-m1S8qU/s1600/Assem1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQt5mgDSsI/AAAAAAAAAOw/IkfX-m1S8qU/s400/Assem1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">The swinging&nbsp;pendulum controls the rate of feeding in a similar way to the mechanism in a grandfather clock.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I also paid another visit to SIRI in the week (see <a href="http://sam-in-india.blogspot.com/2010/09/thumbs-up-from-farmers.html">this</a>&nbsp;blog posting) to show them the ideas I’d had for the improved leaf plates and the incense stick making device, and they seemed keen on both. It was very satisfying to see some of the staff get quite excited as more and more people gradually got called into the office. I’d managed to get the plates stiffer and better shaped by drying them in a certain way, and they reckon they should be suitable for export now. They need to improve the cleaning method slightly but since the meeting I’ve had a look into how some other companies do it and it shouldn’t be too difficult. SIRI had previously been approached by a company who wanted containers with a lockable lid and so I’d had a bit of a play with that too and managed to come up with a locking device which works with the leaves.&nbsp;They also liked the machine I found to improve the bamboo splitting for the incense sticks and are going to contact the manufacturer to trial it. All in all it was a really encouraging meeting and&nbsp;I sort of feel that that alone makes my trip seem worthwhile.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQjRUhQtEI/AAAAAAAAAOY/mAAxutoRi_U/s1600/P1020545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQjRUhQtEI/AAAAAAAAAOY/mAAxutoRi_U/s400/P1020545.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On Wednesday and Thursday last week, we were visited by Jonathon, an American who’s recently set up a business called Biolight&nbsp;making improved cook-stoves (ones which produce less harmful smoke) with a thermoelectric device allowing the user to charge a phone or small light. He wanted our help with conducting its first trial with potential users. Our first visit was to a local woman who has a phone but no electricity. The test showed up a few things that needed improvement but on the whole it worked well, and the woman was very keen on the idea. We also took the stove to Dhamastala, a neighbouring town which attracts Hindu pilgrims from up to 300km away and so we had a chance to demo it to a broad audience. We had some good fun explaining how it works and giving out free cups of tea (or something equivalent), and I was amazed by how many people we attracted.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQlMBh_uZI/AAAAAAAAAOg/gm187R8TglE/s1600/P1020637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQlMBh_uZI/AAAAAAAAAOg/gm187R8TglE/s400/P1020637.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Biolight stove being used next to a conventional three-stone stove</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQkRCdDfeI/AAAAAAAAAOc/LyvufT6wM-M/s1600/P1020803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQkRCdDfeI/AAAAAAAAAOc/LyvufT6wM-M/s400/P1020803.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; More interesting than an elephant</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the weekend, I took a bit of extra time off work to spend three days in Hampi. The ancient city used to be the capital of the&nbsp;Vijayanagara Empire which used to cover South India,&nbsp;and now consists of an overwhelming number of temples and bazaars stretched over 10 square kms.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I couldn’t get over the number of westerners though, and I actually felt a bit uncomfortable around them. Most of them were young globe-trotters on their gap yahs, although luckily the place is big enough that you can lose them all as you wander round the ancient monuments, and luckily too (and also pretty amazingly!) I bumped into Isabelle from the SAP visit the week before within 20 minutes of arriving. I think she had similar feelings about all the tourists and it was nice to spend much of the first day exploring the sites with her and her friend.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQuOG-mc1I/AAAAAAAAAO0/i0adHwl17CA/s1600/P1030346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQuOG-mc1I/AAAAAAAAAO0/i0adHwl17CA/s400/P1030346.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Despite the centre feeling a bit like a tourist attraction, the rest was amazing and I had a brilliant time there. The architecture was beautifully crafted and covered in elaborate carvings, and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking: impossible heaps of boulders perched precariously on the miles of undulating terrain, amid palm groves and paddy fields.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On the second day I met a guy at breakfast who seemed a bit more down to earth and I spent the rest of the day with him. Apparently, due to the size of the place, the best way to see everything is by motorbike and I felt very ‘Indiana Jones’ riding around the ancient temples. Unlike English heritage sites, you don’t need to dismount when you actually reach the attractions.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQnCSwgkTI/AAAAAAAAAOk/an-h4dOLpA8/s1600/P1030267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQnCSwgkTI/AAAAAAAAAOk/an-h4dOLpA8/s400/P1030267.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">And a few more picks from the week:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQsyFq18OI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xQiFX7r2OMk/s1600/P1030069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQsyFq18OI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xQiFX7r2OMk/s400/P1030069.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">These protected stone pillars are each tuned to play a different note and tone when tapped. For a bribe of only 50 rupees the security guard will play them for you, and from an engineering perspective they really are quite incredible.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQtZPoZctI/AAAAAAAAAOs/WgYoeXtpCMY/s1600/P1030181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQtZPoZctI/AAAAAAAAAOs/WgYoeXtpCMY/s400/P1030181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">This snake charmer was one of the ‘attractions’, along with guys dressed with red sheets and facepaint&nbsp;who would let you take their photo for a price. But to be honest, it was pretty cool.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQu3sBf-qI/AAAAAAAAAO4/21rfhkFwtFQ/s1600/P1020879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQu3sBf-qI/AAAAAAAAAO4/21rfhkFwtFQ/s400/P1020879.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvGM3DFyI/AAAAAAAAAO8/rYEjI-yu864/s1600/P1030148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvGM3DFyI/AAAAAAAAAO8/rYEjI-yu864/s400/P1030148.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Breakfast by the river with sugarless tea and spice-free food!</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvcyNuj9I/AAAAAAAAAPA/5DZY6NS3OG0/s1600/P1030066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvcyNuj9I/AAAAAAAAAPA/5DZY6NS3OG0/s400/P1030066.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvujtev7I/AAAAAAAAAPE/3J5gpF3-mK8/s1600/P1030301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQvujtev7I/AAAAAAAAAPE/3J5gpF3-mK8/s400/P1030301.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQwtuJclxI/AAAAAAAAAPI/vshV6NU3Idg/s1600/P1030310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQwtuJclxI/AAAAAAAAAPI/vshV6NU3Idg/s400/P1030310.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This guy owns a (very) small music shop and I had some fun teaching him guitar</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQxMhq4g4I/AAAAAAAAAPM/Uxew5txv7tE/s1600/P1030324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TKQxMhq4g4I/AAAAAAAAAPM/Uxew5txv7tE/s400/P1030324.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-59701737479706237262010-09-21T06:18:00.000-07:002010-09-21T06:20:17.713-07:00Just a short oneI got the third prototype back on Saturday and it sort of works. Some grains are de-husked but not as many as the commercial machines which this model was based on and not nearly enough to make it marketable.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiNzCMCG6I/AAAAAAAAAMs/OKUmb2wy5eQ/s1600/P1020519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiNzCMCG6I/AAAAAAAAAMs/OKUmb2wy5eQ/s400/P1020519.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Turn the handle, put grain in the top and rollers shear the husk off. In theory...<br /><br />The workshop were not easily able to get the 1:4 gear ratio between the rollers I was after in order to match the commercial ones&nbsp;(so one roller rotates four times every time the other rotates once), so I got them to have a go with this 1:2 version. Having seen that the model has potential (there is <i>some</i> de-husking going on), I'm going to get them to modify it to have the conventional ratio.<br /><br /><br />On Friday and Saturday we were visited by some people from SAP (apparently the "world leader in collaborative business software"). Some of them are part of a more social project which the comapany are looking into to try help people in developing regions and wanted to learn more about SELCO and the social enterprise model, and the rest were just interested to learn more about us.<br /><br />We visited a couple of sites where SELCO has installed photovoltaic systems, showed them some of the other work that the incubation lab (where I work) has been doing, and also had a bit of a jolly to Dhamastala to look at a museum and a temple. It was really nice to talk with so many people from the commercial sector who show such an interest in the kind of work SELCO do.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiP7Zqd9EI/AAAAAAAAAM0/cnighm73l4w/s1600/P1010991+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiP7Zqd9EI/AAAAAAAAAM0/cnighm73l4w/s400/P1010991+copy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This picture tells a lot. The people in this village live metres<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; from power lines and yet have no access to the electricity<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; so have to pay above the odds for solar.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiQ1U4qbzI/AAAAAAAAAM8/xBFyYjoFWww/s1600/DSC02304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiQ1U4qbzI/AAAAAAAAAM8/xBFyYjoFWww/s400/DSC02304.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lincoln and me giving our presentation<br /><br /><br /><br />Lincoln left with the guys from SAP on Saturday to catch his flight home, so I'm on my own for the next two weeks. On Sunday I caught a bus to Chikmagalore and then took a Jeep to visit a few of the "hill stations", which are basically nice spots in the hills, where someone will have normally built a temple. I spent a lot of time on the road but there were amazing views throughout and it was a very pleasant way to spend the day.<br /><br />And a few little photos I've taken:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiTJLw8-3I/AAAAAAAAANE/oCcIxwcz154/s1600/P1020149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiTJLw8-3I/AAAAAAAAANE/oCcIxwcz154/s400/P1020149.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Prototype 3 under construction<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJioCDEKkHI/AAAAAAAAANk/TAwPZobpIss/s1600/P1010976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJioCDEKkHI/AAAAAAAAANk/TAwPZobpIss/s400/P1010976.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There are loads of rubber plantations around here, and this is the machine<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; where&nbsp;all the chemicals get added to so it can be used<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiai3psHDI/AAAAAAAAANU/CVSMEj5mCqA/s1600/P1020008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiai3psHDI/AAAAAAAAANU/CVSMEj5mCqA/s400/P1020008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the SELCO lighting systems in action<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiZITCcSiI/AAAAAAAAANM/YnxhtFT2uO4/s1600/P1020136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiZITCcSiI/AAAAAAAAANM/YnxhtFT2uO4/s400/P1020136.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The bit that looks like a nose is actually the remains of a<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; buttress&nbsp;that was removed to de-husk paddy against.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The other guys joked that my project is helping to reduce<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; deforestation.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJil-pGPAjI/AAAAAAAAANc/6n9eruaJ8DM/s1600/P1020300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJil-pGPAjI/AAAAAAAAANc/6n9eruaJ8DM/s400/P1020300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; At the top of Mullayanagiri, Karnataka's highest peak<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiq_zP4NsI/AAAAAAAAANs/cYCOsTWW_dc/s1600/P1020359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJiq_zP4NsI/AAAAAAAAANs/cYCOsTWW_dc/s400/P1020359.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJireE2JBUI/AAAAAAAAAN0/lGKM-rKESsg/s1600/P1020294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJireE2JBUI/AAAAAAAAAN0/lGKM-rKESsg/s400/P1020294.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Life as a temple servant...<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJir7DHWhPI/AAAAAAAAAN8/TFbId3gFIbU/s1600/P1020448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJir7DHWhPI/AAAAAAAAAN8/TFbId3gFIbU/s400/P1020448.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kemmangundi is supposed to be the site of the first coffee plantation in India<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJisyKeoFSI/AAAAAAAAAOE/vcr4X756aD0/s1600/P1020252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJisyKeoFSI/AAAAAAAAAOE/vcr4X756aD0/s400/P1020252.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the many environmentally motivational signs on the way up&nbsp;to the<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; hill stations<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJitOJza4SI/AAAAAAAAAOM/pABlSS7aKCw/s1600/P1020428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJitOJza4SI/AAAAAAAAAOM/pABlSS7aKCw/s400/P1020428.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This eerie wind turbine was put up by the government<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; department of horticulture and represents many energy<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; projects which were started with high hopes and large<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; grants but have since fallen into disrepairSam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-29562664446345174482010-09-17T02:15:00.000-07:002010-09-17T02:15:54.101-07:00Thumbs up from the farmersSorry this blog is a little later than planned. I’m actually sitting in the back of an ‘omni-van’ as I write this, coming home from an SKDRDP farmers’ meeting (I’ve not had loads of spare time). The farmers are part of a sort of union set up by SKDRDP (the NGO which I mentioned in my first blog) and meet once a month to discuss practices and hear about new ideas. Lincoln and I went with Sandeep to show them our projects and get some feedback, and it was actually very encouraging. They were really interested in my de-husker and seemed happy with the quality of the rice even without the improvements I plan to make in the next prototype. They confirmed the fact that it would need some kind of motor to power it, which I was also planning to include in the next prototype, and said they were willing to pay about 50% more for it than I'd been&nbsp;budgeting&nbsp;for. All in all very positive and a couple of the farmers even asked if they could pre-order one now!<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJJGJazlBBI/AAAAAAAAAK0/QR1XD8cRMV4/s1600/P1010944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJJGJazlBBI/AAAAAAAAAK0/QR1XD8cRMV4/s400/P1010944.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="MsoNormal">The second de-husker prototype still isn’t quite ready yet! The workshop has made a fair bit of progress on it though so I thought it was worth dropping in a photo of how it’s looking at the moment:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJIuaduW2dI/AAAAAAAAAKc/Y8q4PRfcl9A/s1600/P1010902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJIuaduW2dI/AAAAAAAAAKc/Y8q4PRfcl9A/s400/P1010902.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Put paddy in the funnel, turn the handle on the bike wheel and rice comes<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; out the side.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Even without the final touches, it can manage about a 50-60% de-husking rate (which is still a considerable improvement on what was achieved previously) but there are far too many broken grains.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Last Thursday I visited an&nbsp;organisation&nbsp;called SIRI to do some consultancy work. They were set up by SKDRDP (the NGO I mentioned in blog number 2) as a&nbsp;not-for-profit company to provide employment and support for women in Karnataka.&nbsp;They make clothing, disposable plate, incense sticks, small ornaments and various other craft items and currently employ over 10,000 people. I felt a little bit overwhelmed when I realised the size of the company, and not sure how much I could do to help in the three weeks I have left here, but it turns out that none of those 10,000 people are mechanical engineers and having spoken to them I'm hopeful I'll be able to be of some use.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJI5jXAvqwI/AAAAAAAAAKs/v6PsPgmgMOM/s1600/P1010592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJI5jXAvqwI/AAAAAAAAAKs/v6PsPgmgMOM/s400/P1010592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My main job is to look into ways to improve the quality of their plate, which are made from the leaves of an areca palm. In fact, if you want to see a video about their plates,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1GxMKseX9A">click here</a>. They make a lot of them which they sell within Karnataka for the equivalent of about 2-3 pence apiece. There is also an export market for these plates where SIRI could sell them for around 15p each, however the quality is currently not good enough. I've not had a chance to have a proper experiment yet but I'm going look into ways of treating the plates after they've been made.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJI4rmSho7I/AAAAAAAAAKk/DxhlAoysfEU/s1600/P1010629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJI4rmSho7I/AAAAAAAAAKk/DxhlAoysfEU/s400/P1010629.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Playing around with the plate making machines</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The second thing they wanted my input on was one of the processes in the production of the bamboo splints for incense sticks (of which they make nearly 2 tonnes per day!) which is currently very laborious. I've designed a very simple contraption that will hopefully help to speed it up and am waiting to hear back if they want me to get it made. I also found a small machine thing that is being made in Mumbai and so I've recommended they try that out too. SIRI works on a very interesting business model. The cheapest way to make incense sticks in the quantities which they do is to buy a few large machines which can spew out hundreds a minute, although this obviously isn't so good for providing jobs. If they were to use no machines at all however, the production process would become too expensive and so SIRI have to come up with a carefully balanced production system which can operate with a lower efficiency and yet remain competitive enough to sell large quantities.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal">One thing I’ve found while looking into the various agricultural innovations out there is that there are a lot. Countless universities, enthusiast and government agencies are generating clever, fully working contraptions but very few of them ever make it to their intended user. A lot of this is due to laziness of the inventors but even the products that make it to manufacturing are difficult for the farmers to access because there’s no way for the farmers to hear about them, and most don’t have the capacity to research what technologies might be available.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On top of this, farmers here are extremely averse to taking risks such investing in machinery which might fail or might not work. When you’re just about managing to grow enough rice to survive, there’s not much room for mistakes and so the focus of your average farmer is on minimising the risk of starvation rather than on profit maximisation (the farmers at the meeting I mentioned earlier are slightly more advanced than your average rural farmer by the way). So even if the farmers knew about these innovations, it is very difficult to convince them that it would be worth their while making the investment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Contemplating all of these things, I came up with the idea of starting some kind of mail order catalogue which would be distributed to the farmers and would let them know about products to help improve their efficiency.&nbsp;I've&nbsp;already come across enough products to put together a decent starting catalogue. SELCO have lots of experience with organising loan schemes and with giving security to the buyers in case the product fails etc. and so hopefully through working through organisations like SKDRDP it will be possible to create something which will be accessible and trusted by rural farmers. I’ve drawn up a really basic business plan for how it could work and Anand seems quite keen on the idea.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It all seems like a lot of extra work to be piling on myself but while the workshops are taking so long, it feels like a worthwhile way to be spending my time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the weekend Lincoln and I went on a bit of a shopping spree to Mangalore, the nearest big city. It was a national holiday and so the students were allowed to go home for the weekend and we tagged along with Anantha who lives quite near to the city centre. His family were incredibly welcoming, as were the various other neighbours and family friends who we visited. Anantha also made the shopping bit a lot more fun, as he took us to all the best shops and restaurants. I bought quite a few bits and pieces including some Levi’s jeans! (not my usual brand but I couldn’t resist the bargain).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLw7JBOVZI/AAAAAAAAAK8/Id_DQj6UiDI/s1600/P1010772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLw7JBOVZI/AAAAAAAAAK8/Id_DQj6UiDI/s400/P1010772.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Quite wordy this week –well done for reaching the end! I’m aiming to put the next one out in only a few days so it should be a bit shorter.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And if you still have some time left, here are a few photos to look at:<br /><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLxqevBKcI/AAAAAAAAALE/YLRg2Sp3dmQ/s1600/P1010938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLxqevBKcI/AAAAAAAAALE/YLRg2Sp3dmQ/s400/P1010938.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I'm so chuffed with the farmers' meeting so I'll show you a couple more<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; photos from that<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLyOfWBh6I/AAAAAAAAALM/BfvNvVTO8jA/s1600/P1010950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJLyOfWBh6I/AAAAAAAAALM/BfvNvVTO8jA/s400/P1010950.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJL7Tbfz_yI/AAAAAAAAALU/Qd6YI6_QKJI/s1600/P1010579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJL7Tbfz_yI/AAAAAAAAALU/Qd6YI6_QKJI/s400/P1010579.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This guy made a base for my de-husker. Despite working as a carpenter<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; all his life, he still has all his toes!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMDw49s0oI/AAAAAAAAALc/w1CZZhAKWYI/s1600/P1010693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMDw49s0oI/AAAAAAAAALc/w1CZZhAKWYI/s400/P1010693.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMFDO7s29I/AAAAAAAAALk/Q1uIFhgvMww/s1600/P1010875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMFDO7s29I/AAAAAAAAALk/Q1uIFhgvMww/s400/P1010875.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the more&nbsp;hygienic&nbsp;looking dentists, strategically located above an<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ice-cream&nbsp;parlour<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMFmc4hPEI/AAAAAAAAALs/VkfZytegbRM/s1600/P1010789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMFmc4hPEI/AAAAAAAAALs/VkfZytegbRM/s400/P1010789.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Domino's pizza!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMG0oZhtUI/AAAAAAAAAME/rS85Pvzb5xk/s1600/P1010306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMG0oZhtUI/AAAAAAAAAME/rS85Pvzb5xk/s400/P1010306.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Oh, and Mangalore has a beach too<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMGQ7Peg-I/AAAAAAAAAL8/nKL1pSaUUjM/s1600/P1010299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMGQ7Peg-I/AAAAAAAAAL8/nKL1pSaUUjM/s400/P1010299.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMF7_v0uHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/0fX_FvrFhks/s1600/P1010718+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMF7_v0uHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/0fX_FvrFhks/s400/P1010718+copy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMHmxrjYgI/AAAAAAAAAMM/3z1xGarqrhE/s1600/P1010345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMHmxrjYgI/AAAAAAAAAMM/3z1xGarqrhE/s400/P1010345.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the bolts from the bus, rolling around on the floor. Not sure where<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; it came from.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMthdxQVNI/AAAAAAAAAMc/BZO1aQ9_AHc/s1600/DSC_3772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMthdxQVNI/AAAAAAAAAMc/BZO1aQ9_AHc/s400/DSC_3772.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It was the Ganesh festival last week too. Lots of street processions and dancing!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMuGKmSNuI/AAAAAAAAAMk/W8DdRhANfG8/s1600/DSC_3755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMuGKmSNuI/AAAAAAAAAMk/W8DdRhANfG8/s400/DSC_3755.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMIVsogE1I/AAAAAAAAAMU/JmkchHNgSy8/s1600/P1010965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TJMIVsogE1I/AAAAAAAAAMU/JmkchHNgSy8/s400/P1010965.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; In the back of the omni-van</div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-72823750972862021912010-09-06T10:30:00.000-07:002010-09-06T10:30:49.918-07:00It Works!!!<div class="MsoNormal">This week I got the first of my prototypes back and it worked! In fact, a lot better than I was hoping: it was only intended as a proof of concept and I expected I’d need to make several refinements before it would produce the same kind of yield as a conventional de-husker, but it managed about a 95% de-husking rate which is definitely comparable. There are still lots of modifications to make for the next prototype though, like including the option of making it motor driven and looking at other ways to increase the throughput. And I’m yet to show it to local farmers to see what they think. In light of the result, Anand my manager has offered me a beer and a job for next year. I’m not sure if he was being serious about the job bit or not.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT5aterH3I/AAAAAAAAAIU/jdp4t_DlzWw/s1600/P1010365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT5aterH3I/AAAAAAAAAIU/jdp4t_DlzWw/s400/P1010365.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The contraption... Paddy (rice with husks on) goes in the middle bit; you turn<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;the handle and rice without the husks on comes out the sides! (There are a few<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;other subtle design features but I won't bore you with those here).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT6j86qsMI/AAAAAAAAAIc/f8xZn03jYRI/s1600/P1010386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT6j86qsMI/AAAAAAAAAIc/f8xZn03jYRI/s400/P1010386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;And here's some 95% de-husked rice</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m still waiting on the second design that I sent off, although the workshop has made progress and I’m really hoping that it’ll be ready to test next week. I’ve also ordered the third design now but it’s a bit more complicated than the other two and so they reckon it’ll take about two weeks to make. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday was Teachers’ Day, a national celebration in commemoration of India’s second president, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Most universities hold a show where the students get the teachers to do various fun things. At the engineering university where I’m based they divided the teachers into six teams and then set various competitions including some races, a talent contest, an eating competition and a quiz.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUAlkC0BLI/AAAAAAAAAJE/DlRfUO5Lmsk/s1600/P1010503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUAlkC0BLI/AAAAAAAAAJE/DlRfUO5Lmsk/s400/P1010503.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The lecturers got quite into musical chairs</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">They also traditionally have various performances from the students to say thank you to the teachers and one of my good friends here, Anantha, kindly decided to put my name down to play at the event. When I agreed to do it I didn’t realise that it would be in front of 800 people and by the time I heard that they’d axed all the other performances except for mine and one other girl’s it was a bit late to pull out. I couldn’t have had a friendlier audience though and it was a lot of fun. I played Hero by Enrique Iglesiasas as they all seem to know it here (and it’s pretty easy to play).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUjLRKBfpI/AAAAAAAAAKM/HYEQsuu4Kno/s1600/P1010491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUjLRKBfpI/AAAAAAAAAKM/HYEQsuu4Kno/s400/P1010491.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">According to Hindu legend their god Vishnu was incarnated as a Krishna, who as a child loved a drink known as buttermilk so much that his mum had to keep it in a pot hanging from the ceiling to prevent him getting it. Out of this has come a tradition known as Dahi Handi, where people hang pots of buttermilk from a rope that can be raised or lowered by others standing at the side. Men take it in turns to try to smash the pots with their fists, and in some places form large human pyramids to help them reach it. On Saturday the university put on their own version which I got to take part in. After the traditional throwing of paint at each other, the guys started to throw mud and the thing pretty much turned into a massive mud wrestling competition before the pot smashing bit had even started. This wasn’t really what was supposed to happen but it was a lot of fun.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUcJ07PubI/AAAAAAAAAJs/AryDRRBKM0U/s1600/DSCN0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUcJ07PubI/AAAAAAAAAJs/AryDRRBKM0U/s400/DSCN0093.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I also managed to make a trip to some other waterfalls with a bunch of the students. This time there were girls which meant the operation had to be even more covert than the last trip. To make the most of the panoramic view we took it in turns to sit on the roof of the Jeep when we made it into the proper jungle.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT_cFqVKzI/AAAAAAAAAI8/X1sv-RmieC4/s1600/P1010238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT_cFqVKzI/AAAAAAAAAI8/X1sv-RmieC4/s400/P1010238.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Here are some more photos:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT-gybY5YI/AAAAAAAAAIs/aB5UOUvMcgo/s1600/DSC_2844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT-gybY5YI/AAAAAAAAAIs/aB5UOUvMcgo/s400/DSC_2844.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Learning&nbsp;to cook dosa at a local caff.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUkTBsm9JI/AAAAAAAAAKU/STfU4chWlwU/s1600/P1010517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUkTBsm9JI/AAAAAAAAAKU/STfU4chWlwU/s400/P1010517.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the other challenges at Teachers' Day<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUFQB1fqPI/AAAAAAAAAJk/hHE7dyAyvRw/s1600/P1010412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUFQB1fqPI/AAAAAAAAAJk/hHE7dyAyvRw/s400/P1010412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;I've become friendly with the guys who organised the&nbsp;Dahi Handi and got<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; to paint one of the pots<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUEmOvm0HI/AAAAAAAAAJc/k1qvBrwvxZE/s1600/DSCN0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUEmOvm0HI/AAAAAAAAAJc/k1qvBrwvxZE/s400/DSCN0070.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The pots before the smashing began</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUEKBPJP0I/AAAAAAAAAJU/8qujiTALXAU/s1600/DSCN0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUEKBPJP0I/AAAAAAAAAJU/8qujiTALXAU/s400/DSCN0046.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Me about to go in<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUdG9UxWfI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/9NDxiZZcX9U/s1600/DSCN0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUdG9UxWfI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/9NDxiZZcX9U/s400/DSCN0081.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUCMPWy4II/AAAAAAAAAJM/lctX5-qa8o4/s1600/P1010264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUCMPWy4II/AAAAAAAAAJM/lctX5-qa8o4/s400/P1010264.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT-9DhNdOI/AAAAAAAAAI0/SPfTh6f0ydM/s1600/DSC_2763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT-9DhNdOI/AAAAAAAAAI0/SPfTh6f0ydM/s400/DSC_2763.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIT-9DhNdOI/AAAAAAAAAI0/SPfTh6f0ydM/s1600/DSC_2763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I'm not going to lie, it was&nbsp;a bit cramped in the Jeep</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;on the way to the waterfalls</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUidGgXyoI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/mkAtKB1K54M/s1600/P1000668+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TIUidGgXyoI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/mkAtKB1K54M/s400/P1000668+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-81942820952595563102010-08-31T06:46:00.000-07:002010-09-02T05:50:19.281-07:00Indian Standard Stretched Time<div class="MsoNormal">It’s been a slow week this week. The guys here say that India works on Indian Standard Stretched Time, and it seems this is definitely the case for steel workshops. With none of the prototypes ready for testing, I’ve spent the week looking at the other projects that SELCO have on the go and have actually made some good progress in places but none of the other projects are likely to have as much potential as the de-husker.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Fortunately for this blog I took a slightly longer weekend away in Mysore so might be able to fill the space with that instead... We arrived in the dark and rain at about 5am after the overnight bus ride and got to watch the town wake up before being met by Kishor. Kishor is a mechanical engineering lecturer at the National Institute of Engineering, based in Mysore, and met Lincoln on a visit to the SELCO office. I was struck by his incredible generosity as he essentially gave up his entire weekend to give us the full tour and let us stay in his house, despite the fact he’d never met me before and had only met Lincoln the once.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Although not the most conventional tourist stop, one of the most fascinating parts of the visit was a trip round the mechanical engineering department at the university. A lot of the labs looked quite similar to those in the Cambridge Engineering Department and the level of teaching was clearly very good. They also had a section looking into rural technologies to help alleviate poverty which I was very interested to look round. There were some really neat ideas on display there but as with so many of these projects, none of them had been taken on to the next stage of being properly tested or actually put into production. I sort of suspect they were never fully researched either and may well not provide the most practical solutions.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyOjexq1zI/AAAAAAAAAFk/DaoVBTXeXTU/s1600/P1000869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyOjexq1zI/AAAAAAAAAFk/DaoVBTXeXTU/s400/P1000869.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A pedal powered water pump</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The main tourist attraction of Mysore is the Maharajah’s Palace which is the official home of the Mysore Royal Family who used to rule over a lot of South India. We got there a bit before dusk to look around the inside and then sat on the paving in front to watch as the sun went down and the lights came on. It was an impressively elaborate building but I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad to see so much extravagance in a place so surrounded by poverty. And I saw my first westerner here (apart from Lincoln of course) since leaving the airport!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyPQzkR3iI/AAAAAAAAAFs/A7ULbBQ8kEw/s1600/P1000968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyPQzkR3iI/AAAAAAAAAFs/A7ULbBQ8kEw/s400/P1000968.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We visited the zoo which had some impressive animals including elephants, tigers, giraffes and (mating) lions. I was actually surprised by how good the conditions were for the most part but things like moody chimpanzees and fettered elephants meant you didn’t quite get the feeling the animals were better off there than in the wild that English zoos manage to give off. But it was quite good fun and we found it hilarious to see so many Indians crowded round an enclosure of pheasants.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On one of the evenings Kishor took us to the closest thing Mysore has to a pub with some of his housemates. It was probably more like a rock-club actually: dark, seedy and playing very loud rock music, but it was good fun and I had my first beer and first ‘non-veg’ there since arriving. I don’t know if it was the music or the alcohol but there were virtually no girls there, and apart from the odd head-banger getting up for his favourite song there was no dancing either.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyP8k-mhWI/AAAAAAAAAF8/ApIF4PRe2dQ/s1600/P1000992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyP8k-mhWI/AAAAAAAAAF8/ApIF4PRe2dQ/s400/P1000992.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kishor decided to stick to the 7up</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I had my first experience of Indian church at a St Philomena’s Cathedral, which holds a weekly mass in English. I was amazed at how similar the service was to a Catholic one back home, and the interior looked almost the same, with the exception of the rope lighting around the crucifix perhaps. Catholicism is the main branch of Christianity in this part of India, and I think that probably has a lot of benefits. I realised in Kenya how easily doctrines get distorted in a place where a lot of the congregation don’t have easy access to books and other recourses where they can explore things themselves, whereas the heavy focus on liturgy in the Catholic service means there’s not actually much space for heresy (beyond anything within the liturgy of course but this probably isn’t the place to discuss that).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyQ0cEeDaI/AAAAAAAAAGM/dgb_3y5x0ZI/s1600/P1000999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyQ0cEeDaI/AAAAAAAAAGM/dgb_3y5x0ZI/s400/P1000999.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We also visited a museum about Mysore, a railway museum, a huge market and a few temples, and saw a play about a man who bought a temple elephant to use on his farm but it got bitten by a mad dog and went on a rampage around the village. I didn’t actually realise that’s what it was about (the elephant was played by an umbrella) till Kishor explained it at the end as it was performed in the local dialect of Kanada, but it was very interesting to see how it compared to an English play.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On the way back we decided to get the train, which takes the most spectacular route through paddy fields and then on into rainforest covered mountains.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On Tuesday it was Raksha Bandhan, a day&nbsp;when girls give out rakhi bracelets to certain boys as a way of saying ‘I love you as if you were my own brother’. This sounds like a lovely gesture but has come to mean ‘I like you as a friend’ or ‘you don’t have a chance’, and is feared by all the boys; some here even missing classes to avoid getting banded. I realised the actual significance of the tradition when Manjesh (one of my friends from the hostel) pointed out one particular band he hadn’t expected to get with a genuine guttedness. I think I must be doing something wrong here as I managed to pick up three myself.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyRaYXUucI/AAAAAAAAAGU/d9e1o-6vS0M/s1600/P1010154_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyRaYXUucI/AAAAAAAAAGU/d9e1o-6vS0M/s400/P1010154_2.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;(</o:p>Apologies for the facial hair by the way: I thought it might be interesting<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;to stop shaving for a while. We’re yet to see if it will ever progress<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;beyond the ‘he needs a shave’ stage to a ‘beard’.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">I also had my first lesson in washing clothes on an Indian washing stone this week. It’s supposed to get your clothes cleaner than a conventional washing machine but I’m not convinced it's worth the extra effort.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THySNeVwYBI/AAAAAAAAAGc/2adrayrsCt0/s1600/P1010166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THySNeVwYBI/AAAAAAAAAGc/2adrayrsCt0/s400/P1010166.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;I hope you're reading this Mum.</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">I was afraid I’d miss my guitar so brought a ukulele along to learn. A couple of the guys at the lodge have guitars and we’ve spent quite a few fun evenings playing around with them since my first week. We’ve just recently found a drummer too so may well be touring the Ujire rock scene by next week’s blog.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyTdN3RMKI/AAAAAAAAAGk/vM5519S4gfM/s1600/P1000253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyTdN3RMKI/AAAAAAAAAGk/vM5519S4gfM/s400/P1000253.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And as before, here are a few more nice photos which don't really tell you a lot about my week but hopefully you'll enjoy anyway:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyUTcykH0I/AAAAAAAAAGs/i2CT5cC0aS4/s1600/P1000923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyUTcykH0I/AAAAAAAAAGs/i2CT5cC0aS4/s400/P1000923.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyUkddyZlI/AAAAAAAAAG0/2kqk3Oop6cw/s1600/P1000944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyUkddyZlI/AAAAAAAAAG0/2kqk3Oop6cw/s400/P1000944.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyU2-KLXPI/AAAAAAAAAG8/m9QIdRh39dA/s1600/P1000943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyU2-KLXPI/AAAAAAAAAG8/m9QIdRh39dA/s400/P1000943.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyVKmraFhI/AAAAAAAAAHE/D_MbVaoYp9I/s1600/P1000971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyVKmraFhI/AAAAAAAAAHE/D_MbVaoYp9I/s400/P1000971.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It's supposed to be a good idea to ask for a blessing on your new car and so the<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; first trip that a lot of them make is to the nearest temple for a mini ceremony.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyVbcVep-I/AAAAAAAAAHM/iliCrFU3R9U/s1600/P1000982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyVbcVep-I/AAAAAAAAAHM/iliCrFU3R9U/s400/P1000982.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I don't know if these cows thought that the motorbikes were part of the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;herd but I've often noticed that they like standing next to them</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TH0GIu7l81I/AAAAAAAAAIE/AxSmwaD1nlU/s1600/P1010020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TH0GIu7l81I/AAAAAAAAAIE/AxSmwaD1nlU/s400/P1010020.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyV-wl3q3I/AAAAAAAAAHU/pT-U4uNrEkY/s1600/P1010021.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyV-wl3q3I/AAAAAAAAAHU/pT-U4uNrEkY/s320/P1010021.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyWZOgp9XI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZzhGCAuVUiU/s1600/P1010057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyWZOgp9XI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZzhGCAuVUiU/s400/P1010057.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the warning signs in the zoo. I like how they decided that getting mauled</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; by a tiger wasn't quite off-putting enough to keep people out of the enclosures.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyYh8f0JuI/AAAAAAAAAHs/IvjQ4XLb1vQ/s1600/P1010124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyYh8f0JuI/AAAAAAAAAHs/IvjQ4XLb1vQ/s400/P1010124.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyYh8f0JuI/AAAAAAAAAHs/IvjQ4XLb1vQ/s1600/P1010124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Another picture of me looking windswept. This time on a very long train.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TH0C8MCo-tI/AAAAAAAAAH8/dnBSTjmU9mk/s1600/DSC_2603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TH0C8MCo-tI/AAAAAAAAAH8/dnBSTjmU9mk/s400/DSC_2603.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Some farm workers planting out paddy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyW5l84qqI/AAAAAAAAAHk/UDOix5z2QxU/s1600/P1010144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyW5l84qqI/AAAAAAAAAHk/UDOix5z2QxU/s400/P1010144.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyZA5Rys3I/AAAAAAAAAH0/mx2_Cg0GKf8/s1600/P1010176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyZA5Rys3I/AAAAAAAAAH0/mx2_Cg0GKf8/s400/P1010176.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;We’re very fortunate to have a western style toilet in our bathroom.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Unfortunately&nbsp;the mice here aren’t so used to them and this one clearly<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; had some difficulty getting out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyPpM9ifpI/AAAAAAAAAF0/ek5-WEwNEXI/s1600/P1000995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THyPpM9ifpI/AAAAAAAAAF0/ek5-WEwNEXI/s400/P1000995.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Meat!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Hmmm... so it turns out I actually had quite a lot to talk about this week despite the lack of project progress. Thank you for reading to the bottom; maybe I’ll try to do a bit less next week.</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-49961782150448907722010-08-25T04:24:00.000-07:002010-08-25T04:26:01.072-07:00Prototypes, flags and waterfalls<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Last Sunday (15th) was Independence Day, where the whole of India celebrates being rid of us guys. The engineering college held a special ceremony which Lincoln and I thought we should probably attend. I had imagined it to be a day of jubilation but in fact it was a much more sombre occasion; remembering those who died for freedom. The ceremony involved the raising of a flag (which we saluted), a minute’s silence, the national anthem and a patriotic speech from the principal. I enjoyed the speech but lot of the students seemed to be less enthusiastic about it all and see the story much more two sided. They realise the great advancements that the British brought with transport and technology, even if we did rob India’s resources, and are disillusioned by the corruption present in the government since we left.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THPq5skNzoI/AAAAAAAAADU/LlbOCNBvOXo/s1600/P1000433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THPq5skNzoI/AAAAAAAAADU/LlbOCNBvOXo/s400/P1000433.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This is a photo I managed to sneak during the ceremony. The guys assured</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; me it was OK to take a photo</span></div><br />Later in the day we made it to Didupe waterfalls with some of the guys. The hostel places incredible strict rules on the students compared with what we’re used to including strict curfews and the students need special permission to leave Ujire at all during term. This makes getting away for a day trip more involved than you’d expect, but after a cunning operation 11 of us made it out to a Jeep and we set off.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTgibgrc4I/AAAAAAAAADs/keiSi0wFd98/s1600/P1000549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTgibgrc4I/AAAAAAAAADs/keiSi0wFd98/s400/P1000549.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The 2km trek from the road took us through some amazing jungle following a path up the river. The route crosses the river about half a dozen times for no obvious reason, which made for some good water fights. And the falls themselves we spectacular. We spent quite a while playing around in them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTfhEPKMkI/AAAAAAAAADk/rJiQH3VKDao/s1600/P1000645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTfhEPKMkI/AAAAAAAAADk/rJiQH3VKDao/s400/P1000645.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Most of my week at work has been spent coming up with some new prototypes for the de-husker. Wanting to hedge my bets I’ve come up with three different designs based on some of the old patents I’ve looked through, two of which are currently being made. The language barrier makes it a lot more difficult to explain to the steel workshops what you're after, even with an interpreter, so we’ll see how things turn out. To be honest I’m not expecting any of them to work well but I hope they will give some useful insight into how the de-husking process works and which will be the best route to pursue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTklNutuGI/AAAAAAAAAD8/OlXAqi2L4oI/s1600/Assembly_1_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTklNutuGI/AAAAAAAAAD8/OlXAqi2L4oI/s400/Assembly_1_blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On Thursday I went with Lincoln and Sandeep to nearby Dhamastala to meet with the agricultural director of SKDRDP, India’s fifth largest NGO, who have contact with a lot of rural communities. They seemed very keen on the projects and offered to carry out a survey for me to help understand what farmers would want from a small scale de-husker. They also offered a chance for me and Lincoln to showcase our projects at one of their project’s monthly federation meetings to get some more feedback from farmers. It's going to be on 15th September and so I now have my first official deadline.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="MsoNormal">One of the students took me to his maths lecture this week. The teaching style was very different to lectures back home; most of the time was spent copying down what was dictated or written on the board, and there were a lot more examples.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTmLwwyixI/AAAAAAAAAEE/6egGB7TISpM/s1600/P1000742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTmLwwyixI/AAAAAAAAAEE/6egGB7TISpM/s400/P1000742.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I managed to sneak this photo when teacher wasn’t looking. Spot the</div><div class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; other differences between this and an English lecture.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The rugby boys will be pleased to know I’ve found a gym where I can put in my pre-season training. One of the guys I met there was very insistent that I should train three times a week but we’ll see how that goes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTnKAlXGqI/AAAAAAAAAEM/XL16QtsJsdQ/s1600/P1000766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTnKAlXGqI/AAAAAAAAAEM/XL16QtsJsdQ/s400/P1000766.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">And a few more photos from the week:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THToFleS4XI/AAAAAAAAAEc/guty3i2nRes/s1600/P1000475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THToFleS4XI/AAAAAAAAAEc/guty3i2nRes/s400/P1000475.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTnrPs40zI/AAAAAAAAAEU/z5QTf1Wa-oA/s1600/P1000479+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTnrPs40zI/AAAAAAAAAEU/z5QTf1Wa-oA/s400/P1000479+copy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTc0CRbl2I/AAAAAAAAADc/26eD2lOvrns/s1600/P1000515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTc0CRbl2I/AAAAAAAAADc/26eD2lOvrns/s400/P1000515.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Having a waterproof camera came in pretty handy on this trip</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTovEoZ0dI/AAAAAAAAAEk/5_AikMOz_q4/s1600/P1000656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTovEoZ0dI/AAAAAAAAAEk/5_AikMOz_q4/s400/P1000656.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTpa4lxg1I/AAAAAAAAAEs/J82MG_qsVJk/s1600/P1000565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTpa4lxg1I/AAAAAAAAAEs/J82MG_qsVJk/s400/P1000565.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTp0WFqe6I/AAAAAAAAAE0/NA95dU5IZPY/s1600/P1000585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTp0WFqe6I/AAAAAAAAAE0/NA95dU5IZPY/s400/P1000585.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTqeASu8uI/AAAAAAAAAE8/4Kr1rUMsmK4/s1600/P1000438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTqeASu8uI/AAAAAAAAAE8/4Kr1rUMsmK4/s320/P1000438.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTqrADxjZI/AAAAAAAAAFE/7wtbiHOmWLQ/s1600/P1000439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTqrADxjZI/AAAAAAAAAFE/7wtbiHOmWLQ/s320/P1000439.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Some additions to the rulebook, posted on the hostel noticeboard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTyFHr2KlI/AAAAAAAAAFU/YwrcRrhBt8g/s1600/P1000816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTyFHr2KlI/AAAAAAAAAFU/YwrcRrhBt8g/s400/P1000816.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTxbdhUiQI/AAAAAAAAAFM/wldMdQnxl0w/s1600/P1000782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THTxbdhUiQI/AAAAAAAAAFM/wldMdQnxl0w/s400/P1000782.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; For a few rupees, this elephant will 'bless' you with its trunk. Hindus believe it to</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; be a god, along with some other animals that can be found around the temples</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THT01Exkh4I/AAAAAAAAAFc/xt0YdNGJaPI/s1600/P1000794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/THT01Exkh4I/AAAAAAAAAFc/xt0YdNGJaPI/s400/P1000794.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623632867471437204.post-51896542119610328302010-08-16T06:32:00.000-07:002010-09-08T04:51:21.685-07:00So I'm here.I made it to India and have started work for an engineering NGO called SELCO. It’s this sort of spiritual, social, political exchange thing.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU">Yah</a>. SELCO’s main thing is setting up photovoltaic systems in rural parts which don’t have access to electricity. They have innovative methods to help the villagers pay for the systems and to maintain them, and have won several prestigious development awards. For the last few years they’ve been developing other projects to help alleviate rural poverty and it’s one of these that I’m working on.<br /><div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal">There are various methods people here use to remove the husks from rice (including throwing it on the road so the trucks drive over it), although most farmers travel miles to large processing plants in order to get it done. I’ll be trying to design a smaller, cheaper version of this de-husker that can be bought by a farmer or village entrepreneur. I take the project on from two interns who worked on it previously but despite their efforts they haven’t managed to achieve anything that works. I’ve been warned that the odds are against me, but they obviously think it’s worth continuing. I’m also likely to get involved in some of the other projects they have on the go.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGjT2bnJ8YI/AAAAAAAAAAM/7sgKlvum6Wg/s1600/P1000077+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGjT2bnJ8YI/AAAAAAAAAAM/7sgKlvum6Wg/s400/P1000077+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bangalore</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I arrived into Bangalore at 5.30 local time on Tuesday morning. After a day spent visiting the SELCO headquarters and various other sights of Bangalore I took an overnight bus to rural Ujire where the innovations lab is based. It’s monsoon season and almost 100% humidity but all the locals tell me it’s the best time to visit: it gets a lot hotter without the clouds and the rain is beautiful as long as you don’t mind getting wet occasionally.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The lab is on the top floor of an engineering college and has spectacular views out onto the tropical forests surrounding. I share it with another intern from England called Lincoln and two local employees: Sandeep and Manju. The guy in charge is called Anand and seems to be very switched on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m sharing a simple room with Lincoln in the college accommodation, which means we’re surrounded by students and I’ve become quite friendly with a lot of them already. We end up spending most spare time with them: eating in the college mess; going to the shops in the town and spending most evenings chatting or playing cards. I was expecting to have a lot of time to myself here and sometimes find myself feeling a bit crowded. I’ve found a rock 10 minutes from the hostel that looks down onto a semi-clearing in the forest where I’m enjoying my quiet times, but I feel I haven’t really had time to digest where I am and a lot of the things I’ve seen. As I write this (Saturday evening) the others are upstairs in someone’s room but I decided to be antisocial tonight so I could start this blog. I have a great time with them but I may need to take a bit more time out next week.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGjVpif-kXI/AAAAAAAAAAU/RlokhOXisA4/s1600/P1000256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGjVpif-kXI/AAAAAAAAAAU/RlokhOXisA4/s400/P1000256.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Our room</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The food here is actually very nice, especially considering it only costs 50 rupees (72p) per day for four all-you-eat meals (they have the additional fun-named ‘snack time’ at 5.30pm and then a late dinner). Although every meal is curry. Even breakfast. The food is entirely vegetarian and eating meat here is considered a bit rebellious, in line with smoking or getting a tattoo in England. And drinking alcohol is even worse, but I hear there are some seedy bars in the cities if I get desperate. The curry is a lot more watery here in the south than curries we get in England although I’m becoming better and better at eating it with my fingers thanks to my daily tuition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Work so far has mostly involved looking at old patents and playing around with rice grains for de-huskers although it’s so far taken me to some interesting places outside of the office including a rural farm, a steel workshop and a rice mill. Hopefully lots more visits to come.<br /><br />And here are a few more photos:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkNzMesSFI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ouxt6Rv8GfM/s1600/P1000060.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkNzMesSFI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ouxt6Rv8GfM/s400/P1000060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; My first Indian curry. Tasted a lot nicer than it looked.</span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkKxquXuOI/AAAAAAAAABc/Iq7KMs6n0hc/s1600/P1000038.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkKxquXuOI/AAAAAAAAABc/Iq7KMs6n0hc/s400/P1000038.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; My first ride in a rickshaw</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkJxGx5TzI/AAAAAAAAABU/RWw-Ak1DIyQ/s1600/P1000032+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><br /><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkJxGx5TzI/AAAAAAAAABU/RWw-Ak1DIyQ/s400/P1000032+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkNHqM9rNI/AAAAAAAAABs/6cDRrziHvuc/s1600/P1000044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkNHqM9rNI/AAAAAAAAABs/6cDRrziHvuc/s400/P1000044.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkMeOrHzSI/AAAAAAAAABk/mPnDzOeQFqI/s1600/P1000015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkMeOrHzSI/AAAAAAAAABk/mPnDzOeQFqI/s400/P1000015.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkNHqM9rNI/AAAAAAAAABs/6cDRrziHvuc/s1600/P1000044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkVBBxOwFI/AAAAAAAAAB8/I29aiR8qRsk/s1600/P1000051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkVBBxOwFI/AAAAAAAAAB8/I29aiR8qRsk/s400/P1000051.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkVBBxOwFI/AAAAAAAAAB8/I29aiR8qRsk/s1600/P1000051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkeXWa1tTI/AAAAAAAAACU/K8Y9rE2L94w/s1600/P1000243.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkeXWa1tTI/AAAAAAAAACU/K8Y9rE2L94w/s400/P1000243.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The SELCO paddy de-husker so far. Those things that have just come out are</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;</span>grains of rice&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">with the husks still on by the way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGktn6pIRiI/AAAAAAAAAC8/K6FquDqTbHI/s1600/P1000385.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGktn6pIRiI/AAAAAAAAAC8/K6FquDqTbHI/s400/P1000385.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;And this is what a commercial paddy de-husker looks like</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkZcRLidiI/AAAAAAAAACE/Tso2kNr4oaQ/s1600/P1000133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkZcRLidiI/AAAAAAAAACE/Tso2kNr4oaQ/s400/P1000133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkdRegqmvI/AAAAAAAAACM/3WkcT5jiPc4/s1600/P1000182+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkdRegqmvI/AAAAAAAAACM/3WkcT5jiPc4/s400/P1000182+copy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A local helping build Lincoln's prototype food dryer</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkm8p7Ap6I/AAAAAAAAACk/Qq1ha7Sl4wA/s1600/P1000283.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkm8p7Ap6I/AAAAAAAAACk/Qq1ha7Sl4wA/s400/P1000283.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">On my fourth day they decided that I was ready to give my first presentation</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">on the project. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of progress to report but they</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; seemed interested in the idea.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkhYFcF65I/AAAAAAAAACc/PUpGxrXGZSU/s1600/P1000215.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkhYFcF65I/AAAAAAAAACc/PUpGxrXGZSU/s400/P1000215.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There have been a lot more signs of Christianity here than I was expecting,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; although many have been in an unorthodox form. Some Hindus have</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; adopted aspects of Christianity on top of their own beliefs and hold Jesus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; as one god among many.</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkr4PSh1XI/AAAAAAAAAC0/y6HFyLN2Tjo/s1600/P1000365+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkr4PSh1XI/AAAAAAAAAC0/y6HFyLN2Tjo/s400/P1000365+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The best way to get around on work visits</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkriUABAsI/AAAAAAAAACs/1AlJ7Vjj4vg/s1600/P1000307+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkriUABAsI/AAAAAAAAACs/1AlJ7Vjj4vg/s400/P1000307+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkxTCfJP6I/AAAAAAAAADE/1cYrTDQU9aU/s1600/P1000408.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkxTCfJP6I/AAAAAAAAADE/1cYrTDQU9aU/s400/P1000408.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ice creams in Ujire</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkyMx7j0eI/AAAAAAAAADM/TYX53vb4nsA/s1600/P1000420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QF7szQFIUYA/TGkyMx7j0eI/AAAAAAAAADM/TYX53vb4nsA/s400/P1000420.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t have internet access at the weekends so I plan put new entries up every Monday morning. Stay tuned.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>Sam Cockshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01905012289314243353noreply@blogger.com4